(431) Baskerville of Woolley Grange and Crowsley Park

Baskerville of Woolley Grange and Crowsley Park 

The Baskerville family who lived at Malmesbury, Bradford-on-Avon and Calne (all in Wiltshire) from the 17th to the 19th centuries claimed descent from Philip Baskerville, the third son of Sir Walter Baskerville (d. 1505), kt., of Eardisley (Herefs), who moved to Salisbury in the early 16th century. This is entirely plausible and may well be correct, but the suggestion in Burke's Landed Gentry that John Baskerville (d. 1681), with whom the genealogy below begins, was the grandson of Philip - who was born about 1490 - is not really tenable. John Baskerville may be identifiable with the child of that name baptised at Malmesbury in 1617, in which case his father's name was Richard, but it has not proved possible to push this lineage any further back with satisfactory evidence. The social status of John and his immediate descendants seems to have been that of yeomen and clothiers occupying a middle station between the landowning gentry and the peasantry, but over time the profits of the clothing trade and prudent marriages made them rather wealthier, and the family began styling themselves 'gentleman' from the early 18th century.

John Baskerville's eldest son, John Baskerville (1649-1732), settled at Burton Hill on the outskirts of Malmesbury, but not apparently at Burton Hill House, which was occupied by the Hungerford and Estcourt families at this period. By 1675, John had become a Quaker, and this remained the family's religion for the next two generations. The excellent record-keeping of the Quakers shows that John had four sons who survived to adulthood, namely John, Ezekiel, James and Thomas. John and James became clothiers in Bradford-on-Avon and Calne respectively, while Ezekiel Baskerville (1681-1736), who was the eldest son to survive his father, inherited the Burton Hill property and Thomas (1687-1756), the youngest son, became a leather merchant in London before retiring to Surrey.

John Baskerville (1678-1730) was probably already settled in Bradford-on-Avon when he married Ann Webb there in 1701. At some point he purchased a small 17th century manor house called Woolley Grange outside the town, but this may have been a little later. In 1710, John married for a second time, and produced four sons and four daughters. Only two of the sons survived to adulthood, and the elder, Joseph Baskerville (1713-56) became a woollen draper in London, leaving Thomas Baskerville (1717-79) to inherit Woolley Grange and his father's clothing interests in Bradford-on-Avon. Thomas was brought up in a Quaker household, but later left the Society of Friends, perhaps on his marriage to a non-Quaker in 1741. He had two sons and five daughters, but once again the eldest son was not the principal heir. The career of his eldest son, Thomas Baskerville (1743-c.1782) is somewhat obscure, but he was left some urban property in Bradford-on-Avon by his father. Burke's Landed Gentry suggests he was a soldier, but this seems to be based on a confusion with his near-contemporary, Lt-Col. Thomas Baskerville (1735-1817) of Poulton House near Marlborough, who appears in a previous post. Thomas Baskerville senior's younger son was John Baskerville (1745-1800), who was a clothier, and it was he who inherited Woolley Grange. He married Hester, the daughter of Nicholas Webb of Norton Court (Glos), a wealthy Gloucester merchant, and produced two sons, John Baskerville (1772-1837) and Joseph Baskerville (1773-1812), neither of whom married. He left his estate to his widow, who died in 1819, and then to his son, John. When John died without issue in 1837, he bequeathed his property to his cousin, Henry Viveash (1793-1877) of Calne, on condition that he took the name Baskerville.

Henry Viveash (the name is pronounced Vy-vash) was the eldest surviving son of Oriel Viveash of Calne, clothier, and his wife Sarah, the daughter of Thomas Baskerville (1717-79), and had pursued a career with the East India Company in Madras (India), where he was a member of the Board of Revenue. In such a position he may well have accumulated a substantial capital on his own account, but on receiving the legacy from his cousin he returned to England. He did not, however, occupy Woolley Grange, which was at first leased to his brother, Charles Baskerville Viveash (1799-1863) and then to Capt. Septimus Palairet (d. 1854) (who remodelled the house considerably in the late 1840s), before being sold in 1864. Instead, Henry Baskerville (as he became

Farleigh Castle, Farleigh Hungerford: rented by Henry Baskerville, 1842-45

in 1838) chose to rent a house in Cheltenham, and then Farleigh Castle at Farleigh Hungerford (Som.), while he looked around for a grander estate to purchase. In 1845 he found what he was looking for in Crowsley Park near Shiplake (Oxfordshire), and he moved in shortly afterwards. He was quickly assimilated into the county elite in his new home, becoming a deputy lieutenant in 1846 and serving as High Sheriff in 1847-48. 

In 1839, Henry Baskerville married Mary Anna Burton (d. 1888), whose father had been a doctor in Madras and was no doubt known to Henry from his years in India. They had two sons and four daughters, of whom the elder son, John Baskerville (1839-1927) inherited Crowsley Park, while the younger, Henry Joseph North Baskerville (1861-1941), had a very chequered career. After a traditional education at public schools and Cambridge, he married Edith Peskett, the daughter of a house painter from Chichester, in 1886. The couple separated at some point in the 1890s, with Edith returning to live with her father, while Henry found a new partner in Lilian Hayward (1883-1971), the daughter of a policeman from Mitcheldean (Glos), with whom he went on to have five children. Henry and Lilian lived as husband and wife - and appear as such on the 1901 and 1911 censuses - but there had been no marriage (and if there had been it would have been bigamous and invalid). This would have remained a very minor scandal had not Henry, at some point in the first decade of the 20th century, been ordained as a minister of the Free Church of England, and in 1910 made incumbent of Christ Church, Broadstairs (Kent). He filled this role for five years, but in 1915 something happened that caused the church authorities to deprive him of his living and pack him off to lead a mission church in Birmingham. Since he was evidently on excellent terms with his congregation (who presented him with a purse of gold sovereigns when he left the parish) it seems likely that his marital status had come to the attention of the church and caused his demotion. He continued, however, to live with Lilian, and as soon as his first wife died, in 1932, he married her, although under English law this did not legitimate their children.

John Baskerville (1839-1927), who inherited Crowsley Park, pursued a more orthodox career in the army, retiring as a major in 1868, and later commanded the Oxfordshire Hussars, with the honorary rank of Colonel. He succeeded his father in 1877 and became a JP and County Councillor, and from 1890 a deputy lieutenant. Like his father, he married a doctor's daughter, and produced two sons and two daughters. His elder son, and the heir to Crowsley Park, was the historian Geoffrey Baskerville (1870-1944), whose trenchant and revisionist book on the dissolution of the monasteries appeared in 1937. He inherited Crowsley Park in 1927 and lived there with his mother, who died in 1939. Soon afterwards, Crowsley Park was requisitioned by the Government for the use of the BBC. The Corporation was principally interested in the park, which despite the proximity of the town of Reading offered good conditions for monitoring overseas telecommunications, with limited electrical interference. After the war, the Corporation retained the park and built a new building to house its monitoring service staff, but the family returned briefly to the house in the person of Geoffrey Baskerville's younger brother, the Rev. Humphrey Baskerville (1879-1952), another childless bachelor. On his death, the estate was sold and the BBC was able to acquire the freehold.

Woolley Grange, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire

A medium-sized manor house, dated 1665, irregularly gabled and with tall square ashlar chimney stacks set diagonally in groups of two and three. The house was considerably restored and added to by Captain S.H. Palairet in about 1847-50, probably to the designs of George Phillips Manners of Bath (who is thought to have designed Christ Church Schools in Bradford, opened in 1847 and paid for by Palairet). 

Woolley Grange: an engraving of 1888 by Samuel Loxton of Bristol.

The two-storey front elevation of rubble stone with ashlar dressings has gabled attics, each with a two-light casement window, and all the gables have unusual and attractive pierced spear-head finials. Beneath the two left-hand gables are a pair of 19th century two-storey bays with balustraded parapets and stone mullioned windows on each floor. The square porch is set approximately centrally in the facade and has a room over it and above that another balustraded parapet. The doorcase is in the form of a moulded segmental arch with keystone and imposts, and inside the porch is a carved oak ceiling with the date "1665" over the inner doorway. To the right of the porch is a plain bay, with three-light stone mullioned casements with drip-moulds on the ground and first floors; it seems likely that the bays to the left of the porch were originally similar in form. To the right again is a slightly taller projecting bay with a large gable and a single-storey bay window which seems to match those on the bays to the left of the porch, and therefore probably also dates from the 1840s. 

Woolley Grange: the main front today

A lower gabled wing on the extreme right of the front elevation has a restored three-light oriel window with a shallow embattled parapet. There is a late 19th century conservatory on the extreme left of the frontage and the side elevation at this end has three gables and some original mullioned windows and drip-moulds. At the rear there is a single-storey flat-roofed extension incorporating a porch made up from older sculptural fragments, which is reminiscent (in a simpler way) of the garden porch at Crowsley Park (for which, see below). In the mid 20th century the house was used as a maternity home, and it was converted to an hotel in 1989. The road from Bradford-on-Avon to Woolley Green originally ran immediately past the house but was moved further away when the house was restored in 1860.

Descent: sold to John Baskerville (1678-1730); to son, Thomas Baskerville (1717-79); to son, John Baskerville (1745-1800); to widow, Hester (d. 1819); to son, John Baskerville (1772-1837); to cousin, Henry Viveash (later Baskerville) (1793-1877), who leased 1846 to Captain Septimus Henry Palairet (d. 1854); sold 1864 to Samuel Beavan (fl. 1866); sold to Buddle Atkinson (d. 1880); to widow Clara, later wife of John Bell Simpson... sold c.1905 to Percy Kendall Stothert (fl. 1905-17); sold to Lt-Col. Harry F. Darell (fl. 1920-27); sold 1927 to Charles Goschen (d. 1939); to widow, Beatrice Goschen (fl. 1942) who let 1941 to Wiltshire County Council for use as a maternity home.

Crowsley Park, Shiplake, Oxfordshire

Crowsley Park: entrance front in 2010. Image: Shaun Ferguson. Some rights reserved.

Crowsley Park is a long, narrow house built probably by Francis Heywood in the early 1730s to replace an earlier farmhouse. It is built of red brick and presents a ten bay front on the entrance front and thirteen bays on the garden side, which is about eight feet wider. John Atkyns-Wright remodelled it in about 1800, adding a Gothic-style battlemented porch and corner turrets. Henry Baskerville made substantial changes before 1852, and more limited alterations followed in the late 19th century, probably including the extraordinary porch on the garden front, which is made up from fragments of older carving, 18th century mouldings, urns, and a pair of neo-Jacobean corbels. 

Crowsley Park: garden front in about 1870. Image: Elizabeth Clifford/Historic England.

Crowsley Park: the porch on the garden front in 1956.
Image: Historic England.

In 1844 the house included a large stone-paved entrance hall, library, drawing and dining rooms, and (on the first floor) six principal bedrooms. The house preserves a fine staircase with twisted balusters and carved treads, and much 18th century panelling, shutters and plasterwork. There is also a handsome curved back stair of c.1800. The house was neglected in the mid 20th century when Geoffrey Baskerville seems to have been short of money, and it was requisitioned by the Government in 1942 and given to the BBC, who occupied the house and built a signals-receiving station in the park. By 1970 the house was in very poor condition, but it was subsequently restored by Hugh and Beeban Morris, who took a twenty-year repairing lease, demolished the servants’ wing and restored the rest. Much additional work was done to the house from 1995 onwards by a later lessee, the clothing designer Jeff Banks, including the conversion of outbuildings to domestic use.

The chief ornament surviving from the 18th century park is a grotto built into the hillside south-east of the house. This has a stone front with three niches over the entrance, and inside a single rib-vaulted chamber with niches in the partly shell-lined walls. The Baskervilles planted thousands of trees, forming avenues and a fine arboretum, which included some sub-tropical exotic planting. During the period of neglect in the mid 20th century, the arboretum grew into an almost impenetrable jungle with a humid micro-climate, in which the long-forgotten sub-tropical plants not only survived but grew to a size rarely seen in the UK. When Hugh Morris began to force a way into the jungle with a small tractor in the 1970s this remarkable world was rediscovered.

Descent: Crown granted c.1570 to Thomas Crompton; sold to Bennett Winchcombe and Humphrey Purcell; sold 1595 to John Mochett (d. 1605); to widow Margery Mochett (d. 1623) and then to his nephew John Cooke; sold 1627 to Peter du Bois; to widow, who sold 1660s to Abraham Otger... Peter Otger sold 1732 to Francis Heywood (d. 1747), who built the house and enlarged the estate; to brother William Heywood (d. 1762); to nephew John Crew (d. 1788) and sisters Mary Wright (d 1780) and Elizabeth Fonnereau (d. 1777) as co-heirs; reunited by Mary’s daughter Mary Wright (d. 1793); to nephew, John Atkyns-Wright MP (d. 1822); to widow Mary Atkyns-Wright (d. 1842); sold by order of Chancery in 1845 to Henry Viveash (later Baskerville) (1793–1877); to son, John Baskerville (1839–1927); to son, Geoffrey Baskerville (1870-1944); requisitioned in 1942 for BBC, who later bought the freehold. The house was occupied by the Rev. Humphrey Baskerville until his death in 1952, and leased from 1970-90 to Mr & Mrs Hugh Morris and from 1995 to Jeff Banks (b. 1943). 

Baskerville family of Woolley Grange and Crowsley Park

Baskerville, John (1617?-81). Possibly the son of Richard Baskerville and his wife, baptised at Malmesbury, 19 August 1617. He may also be the John Baskerville of Malmesbury who was licensed by the Bishop of Salisbury as a teacher, 1662. He married, about 1646, Rebecca [surname unknown] (fl. 1682) and had issue:

(1) An unnamed child (d. 1648); probably died in infancy and was buried at Malmesbury, 20 July 1648;

(2) twin?, Mary Baskerville (1648-61), baptised at Malmesbury, 7 January 1648/9; died young and was buried at Malmesbury, 2 August 1661;

(3) twin?, Rebecca Baskerville (b. 1648), baptised at Malmesbury, 7 January 1648/9;

(4) John Baskerville (1649-1732) (q.v.);

(5) Thomas Baskerville (b. 1652; fl. 1724) of Malmesbury, baptised at Malmesbury, 23 April 1652; living in 1724;

(6) Francis Baskerville (1654-1729), born 17 December 1654 and baptised at Malmesbury, 9 January 1654/5; clothier of Malmesbury; married, 1687, Bridget Baldwyn of Yatesbury (Wilts), and had issue one daughter; buried at Malmesbury, 24 March 1728/9; will proved 12 July 1731;

(7) Joseph Baskerville (b. 1656), born 9 December 1656 and baptised at Malmesbury, 5 January 1656/7;

(8) An unnamed son (b. 1661), born 21 April 1661; probably died in infancy;

(9) An unnamed son (d. 1663), probably died in infancy and was buried 8 September 1663.

He lived at Malmesbury.

He was buried at Malmesbury, 3 November 1681; administration of his goods was granted in 1682. His widow was living in 1682 but her date of death is unknown.

Baskerville, John (1649-1732). Eldest son of John Baskerville (1617?-81) and his wife Rebecca [surname unknown], baptised at Malmesbury, 23 October 1649. He married 1st, 22 August 1675 at Slaughterford (Wilts), Elizabeth Wallis (d. 1700) of Slaughterford (Wilts), and 2nd Ann [surname unknown] (d. 1732), and had issue:

(1.1) John Baskerville (b. & d. 1676), born 4 June 1676; died in infancy and was buried 6 June 1676;

(1.2) Rebecca Baskerville (b. 1677), born 12 April 1677; married, 1698/9, Charles Robins (fl. 1731) and had issue one son and two daughters; living in 1731; 

(1.3) John Baskerville (1678-1730) (q.v.);

(1.4) Ezekiel Baskerville (1681-1756) of Burton Hill (Wilts), born 17 March 1680/1; died unmarried and without issue, 12 August and was buried at Lea and Claverton, 15 August 1756; will proved at Malmesbury, 15 December 1756;

(1.5) James Baskerville (b. 1683), of Calne (Wilts), born 2 April 1683; married, before 1714, Jane [surname unknown] and had issue three sons; living in 1717;

(1.6) Elizabeth Baskerville (b. 1685), born 19 May 1685; married, probably after 1717, Henry Franklyn, and had issue one daughter; living in 1756;

(1.7) Thomas Baskerville (1687-1756), born 31 January 1686/7; leather-seller in London, and later of Merstham (Surrey); died without issue, 8 August and was buried at Reigate Quaker Burial Ground (Surrey), 13 August 1756; will proved 23 August 1756.

He lived at Burton Hill, Malmesbury.

He died 20 August and was buried at The Lea Quaker Burial Ground, 24 August 1732; his will was proved 25 October 1732. His first wife died 14 March 1700. His second wife was buried at The Lea Quaker Burial Ground, 6 February 1731/2.

Baskerville, John (1678-1730). Second but eldest surviving son of John Baskerville (1649-1732) and his first wife, Elizabeth Wallis of Slaughterford (Wilts), born 7 July 1678. Clothier. A Quaker in religion. He married 1st, 19 June 1701 at Comerwell Quaker Meeting House, Anne Webb (d. 1701) of Bradford-on-Avon (Wilts) and 2nd, 6 July 1710, Rachel (c.1685-1744?), daughter of Joseph Sargent of Calne (Wilts), and had issue:

(2.1) Mary Baskerville (b. 1711), born at Calne, 12 June 1711; married, after 1729, Thomas Farmer (fl. 1752);

(2.2) John Baskerville (1712-34), born 5 September 1712; died unmarried and without issue, and was buried in the Quaker burial ground at Lavington (Wilts), 7 July 1734;

(2.3) Joseph Baskerville (1713-56), born 24 July 1713; woollen draper of Tinley (Wilts) and Fenchurch St., London; married, 11 September 1735 at Bristol, Mary (1715-66?), daughter of Thomas Farmer of Bromsgrove (Worcs), ironmonger, and had issue one son and one daughter; died 2 April and was buried at Bunhill Fields, 9 April 1756; will proved in the PCC, 10 April 1756;

(2.4) Rachel Baskerville (1716-20), born 30 October 1716; died young and was buried in the Quaker burial ground at Comerwell (Wilts), 18 July 1720;

(2.5) Thomas Baskerville (1717-79) (q.v.);

(2.6) James Baskerville (1721-22), born 2 July 1721 and died 9 November 1722;

(2.7) Rachel Baskerville (b. & d. 1723), born 11 October 1723; died in infancy, 6 November 1723;

(2.8) Elizabeth Baskerville (b. 1728), born 17 August 1728; married John Stafford (d. 1780) of Bradford-on-Avon and later of Winchester (Hants), clothier, and had issue three sons and four daughters; death not traced.

He lived at Woolley Grange, Bradford-on-Avon, which he bequeathed to his widow for life and then to his youngest surviving son, Thomas. He also left a bequest of £50 for wainscoting and repairing his house at Woolley.

He died in the lifetime of his father, between 29 January and 24 March 1729/30; his will was proved in the PCC, 24 March 1729/30. His first wife died 26 December 1701. His widow is said to have died 13 March 1744.

Baskerville, Thomas (1717-79). Third son of John Baskerville (1678-1730) and his second wife, Rachel, daughter of Joseph Sargent of Calne (Wilts), born 7 March 1716/7 and registered at Lavington (Wilts) Quaker Meeting. Gentleman clothier at Bradford-on-Avon. He married, 21 April 1741 at Great Chalfield (Wilts), Anne (d. c.1787), daughter of Thomas Dyke esq. of Bradford-on-Avon, and had issue:

(1) Thomas Baskerville (1743-c.1782), of Bradford-on-Avon, baptised at Bradford-on-Avon, 27 April 1743; sometimes said to be an officer in the army but this appears to be a confusion with his distant kinsman, Lt-Col. Thomas Baskerville (1735-1817) of Poulton House near Marlborough (Wilts); although the eldest son he was not his father's principal heir; he probably died between 1779 and 1786 as he is mentioned in his father's will but not in his mother's will, but his burial has not been traced;

(2) John Baskerville (1745-1800) (q.v.);

(3) Ann Baskerville (1747-98), baptised at Bradford-on-Avon, 23 June 1747; died unmarried and was buried at Bradford-on-Avon, 18 September 1798;

(4) Rachel Baskerville (1750-79), baptised at Bradford-on-Avon, 10 August 1750; died unmarried and was buried at Bradford-on-Avon, 19 October 1779; will proved in PCC, 2 November 1779;

(5) Elizabeth Baskerville (1753-1826), baptised at Bradford-on-Avon, 8 August 1753; married, 13 March 1782 at South Wraxall (Wilts), Thomas Todd (d. 1827) of Tunniside, Lanchester (Co. Durham), an official of the General Post Office, and had issue two daughters; died at the house of her son-in-law in Cheshunt (Herts) and was buried at Cheshunt, 3 June 1826;

(6) Susannah Baskerville (1759-1822), baptised at Bradford-on-Avon, 29 June 1759; married, 26 August 1779 at Bradford-on-Avon, Henry Headley MD (c.1756-1838) of Calne and later Devizes (Wilts), apothecary and physician, but had no issue; buried at Devizes, 2 January 1822;

(7) Sarah Baskerville (1761-1830) (q.v.).

He inherited Woolley Grange from his father in 1730, and came of age in 1738. He was also the residuary legatee of his uncle, Thomas Baskerville of Merstham in 1756.

He died 4 September and was buried at Bradford-on-Avon, 9 September 1779; his will was proved in the PCC, 30 September 1779. His widow was buried at Bradford-on-Avon, 22 December 1787; her will was proved 27 December 1787.

Baskerville, John (1745-1800). Second son of Thomas Baskerville (1717-79) and his wife Anne, daughter of Thomas Dyke of Bradford-on-Avon (Wilts), born 30 March and baptised at Bradford-on-Avon, 1 May 1745. Clothier at Bradford-on-Avon; JP and DL for Wiltshire. He married, 17 October 1771 at Bradford-on-Avon, Hester (1743-1819), daughter of Nicholas Webb of Norton Court (Glos) and Gloucester, merchant, and had issue:

(1) John Baskerville (1772-1837) (q.v.);

(2) Joseph Baskerville (1773-1812), of Woolley Grange, born 6 August 1773 and baptised at Bradford-on-Avon, 15 March 1774; died unmarried, 7 October, and was buried at Bradford-on-Avon, 14 October 1812.

He inherited Woolley Grange from his father in 1779. He left his estate to his widow for life, with remainder to his sons.

He died 15 March and was buried at Bradford-on-Avon, 21 March 1800; his will was proved in the PCC, 26 May 1800. His widow was buried at Bradford-on-Avon, 16 December 1819; her will was proved 11 April 1820.

Baskerville, John (1772-1837). Elder son of John Baskerville (1745-1800) and his wife Hester, daughter of Nicholas Webb of Norton Court (Glos), born 22 July and baptised at Bradford-on-Avon, 26 July 1772. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Woolley Grange on the death of his mother in 1820, but lived latterly in Bath. On his death his property passed to his cousin, Henry Viveash (later Baskerville) (1793-1877) (q.v.), on condition that he took the name Baskerville.

He died at Bath (Som.) 20 December and was buried at Bradford-on-Avon, 28 December 1837; his will was proved 5 February and 7 March 1838.

Baskerville, Sarah (1761-1830). Fifth daughter of Thomas Baskerville (1717-79) and his wife Anne, daughter of Thomas Dyke of Bradford-on-Avon (Wilts), baptised at Bradford-on-Avon, 27 November 1761. She married, 21 April 1788 at Calne (Wilts), Oriel Viveash (1763-1836) of Calne, clothier, second son of Simeon Viveash, and had issue:

(1) Catherine Anne Viveash (1789-92), born 6 March and baptised at Calne, 7 April 1789; died young, and was buried at Calne, 31 January 1792;

(2) Samuel Viveash (1791-1830), born 19 January and baptised 14 February 1791; clothier in partnership with his father at Calne; Treasurer of Calne Turnpike Roads; died unmarried in London, 25 November, and was buried at Calne, 3 December 1830;

(3) Henry Viveash (later Baskerville) (1793-1877) (q.v.);

(4) Oriel Viveash (1795-1863), of Calne (Wilts), born 6 January and baptised at Calne, 6 March 1795; articled clerk to John Merewether of Calne, attorney, 1811; East India Company's solicitor for the Madras presidency, 1835; after his retirement he lived in a hotel in London; died at Ealing (Middx), 25 January 1863; will proved 29 April 1863 (effects under £25,000);

(5) Anne Viveash (1796-1819), born 16 December 1796 and was baptised at Calne, 11 March 1799; died unmarried and was buried at Calne, 2 July 1819;

(6) Charles Baskerville Viveash (1799-1863), born 27 January and was baptised at Calne, 11 March 1799; articled clerk to John Merewether of Calne, 1815 and to John Blackstock of London, 1819; qualified as an attorney and solicitor and practised in London in partnership with Thomas Wootton until 1829; he then emigrated to Tasmania (Australia), but returned to the Bradford-on-Avon area and occupied Woolley Grange in the early 1840s; about 1846 he moved to Ealing (Middx) and was apparently again in practice in London; he married 1st, 19 April 1824 at Overton (Wilts), Ellen (d. 1842), eldest surviving daughter of Henry Tanner of Overton (Wilts), and 2nd, 22 March 1845 at St Marylebone (Middx), Susan (1812-96), daughter of Henry Gammon of Georgeham (Devon) and widow of Thomas Grimshaw, and had issue one son and one daughter by his second wife; died at Ealing, 6 February 1863; will proved 27 April 1863 (effects under £14,000);

(7) Eliza Susannah Viveash (c.1802-56), born about 1802; lived in the family house on The Green, Calne; died unmarried, 14 January, and was buried at Calne, 19 January 1856; will proved in the PCC, 13 February 1856;

(8) Hester Viveash (1804-46), born 12 February and baptised 29 February 1804; married, 15 October 1829 at Calne, William Tanner (1801-1845) of Overton (Wilts) and later of Colyton (Devon), farmer, and had issue at least three sons and two daughters; she and her husband and family emigrated to Swan Lake, Western Australia in 1830-31, returned in 1835, went out again in 1838 and returned finally in 1844; for details of their property holdings see this page; on both their outward journeys they led large parties of emigrants; she died 31 August, and was buried at Colyton Unitarian Church, 5 September 1846.

She and her husband lived in a house on the Green at Calne (Wilts).

She was buried at Calne, 20 January 1830. Her husband died 30 April and was buried at Calne, 7 May 1836; administration of his goods was granted 2 November 1836.

Henry Viveash (later Baskerville) 

Viveash (later Baskerville), Henry (1793-1877). Second son of Oriel Viveash (1763-1836) and his wife Sarah, daughter of Thomas Baskerville of Woolley Grange, Bradford-on-Avon (Wilts), born 6 January and baptised at Calne (Wilts), 28 January 1793 'by a dissenting minister' and 7 April 1793 into the Church of England. Educated at Haileybury College, 1809-11; a civilian official of the East India Co. at Madras, 1811-38, and latterly a member of the Board of Revenue. JP for Wiltshire, Somerset (from 1842) and Oxfordshire; DL for Oxfordshire (from 1846); High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, 1847-48. He assumed the name and arms of Baskerville by royal licence, 5 March 1838. He married, 14 February 1839 at Cheltenham (Glos), Mary Anna (d. 1888), second daughter of John Standfast Burton esq. of Cheltenham (and formerly of the Madras medical establishment), and had issue:

(1) John Baskerville (1839-1927) (q.v.);

(2) Mary Anna Baskerville (1841-1900), born 6 May and baptised at Cheltenham, 23 June 1841; married, 1 December 1863, William Dalziel Mackenzie (1840-1928) of Fawley Court (Bucks), son of Edward Mackenzie of Fawley, civil engineer and contractor, and had issue two sons and four daughters; died 15 November 1900;

(3) Jessie Baskerville (1842-1920), born 30 August 1842 and baptised at Farleigh Hungerford (Som.), 15 May 1843; married, 17 June 1862, Maj-Gen. Edward Harding Steward (1835-1918), son of Samuel Steward, and had issue four sons and two daughters; died 13 December 1920; will proved 4 February 1921 (estate £383);

(4) Helen Jane Baskerville (1843-1919), born 5 December 1843 and baptised at Farleigh Hungerford, 9 November 1844; married, 14 October 1865 at Shiplake, Col. Edward Philippe Mackenzie (1842-1929) of Downham Hall, Santon Downham (Suffk) and later of 14 Sussex Sq., Brighton, son of Edward Mackenzie of Fawley Court (Bucks), and had issue one daughter; died 3 October 1919; will proved 8 November 1919 (estate £7,564);

(5) Florence Emma Baskerville (1853-1912), born 7 July 1853; married, 22 July 1874 at Kensington (Middx), James Lynam Molloy (1837-1909), Irish songwriter and composer, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 9 December 1912; will proved 21 January 1913 (estate £3,024);

(6) Rev. Henry Joseph North Baskerville (1861-1941), born 26 January and baptised at Shiplake, 11 March 1861; educated at Rugby, Radley and Clare College, Cambridge (matriculated 1881); married 1st, 1886 (sep. before 1901), Edith (1866-1932), daughter of Charles Thomas Peskett of Chichester (Sussex), house decorator, but had no issue; after his separation he lived as husband and wife with Lilian Julia Mary (1883-1971), daughter of Henry Hayward of Mitcheldean (Glos), policeman, by whom he had issue five children; he became a minister of the Free Church of England and incumbent of Christ Church, Broadstairs (Kent), 1910-15, but was dismissed in 1915 (perhaps because his marital status had come to light) and sent to run a mission church in Birmingham; after his first wife's death in 1932 he was legally married to his common law wife; he died 13 March 1941.

He inherited Woolley Grange from his cousin, John Baskerville (d. 1837) but leased it out and sold it in 1864. He rented Farleigh Castle at Farleigh Hungerford (Som.), 1842-45 and purchased Crowsley Park (Oxon) in 1845. 

He died 6 February and was buried at Shiplake, 10 February 1877; his will was proved 11 April 1877 (effects under £25,000). His widow was buried at Shiplake, 11 February 1888; her will was proved 10 May 1888 (effects £13,114).

Baskerville, Col. John (1839-1927). Elder son of Henry Viveash (later Baskerville) (1793-1837) and his wife Mary Anna, second daughter of John Standfast Burton of Cheltenham (Glos), born 9 November and baptised at Cheltenham, 18 December 1839. Educated at Eton. An officer in the army (Cornet, 1858; Lt., 1860; Capt. 1861; Maj., 1868; retired 1868) and subsequently of the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars (Maj. by 1882; Lt-Col., 1885; Hon. Col., 1888; retired 1892). JP and DL (from 1890) for Oxfordshire; County Councillor for Oxfordshire, 1895-c.1910. A freemason from 1859. He married, 15 July 1869 at Ledbury (Herefs), Caroline (1846-1939), daughter of William Charles Henry MD FRS JP of Haffield House (Herefs), and had issue:

(1) Geoffrey Baskerville (1870-1944) (q.v.);

(2) Clara Juliet Baskerville (1871-1937), baptised at Harpsden (Oxon), 1 November 1871; a Sister of Mercy at Clewer (Berks); died in London, 27 September 1937;

(3) Maud Lucy Baskerville (1873-1959), baptised at Rotherfield Peppard (Oxon), 28 May 1873; married, 24 January 1912 at Shiplake, Rev. Walter Capel Young, rector of Fawley (Bucks), 1907-47, son of Henry Thomas Young of London; died 4 April 1959; will proved 23 June 1959 (estate £12,615);

(4) Rev. Humphrey Baskerville (1879-1952), born 22 February and baptised at Shiplake, 16 April 1879; educated at Wellington College, Oriel College, Oxford (BA 1902; MA 1905) and Cuddesdon Theological College; ordained deacon, 1905 and priest, 1908; curate of Wantage (Berks), 1905-06, St John, East Dulwich (London), 1906-09 and Chislehurst (Kent), 1909-10, but was thereafter apparently unbeneficed, although he again acted as a supernumerary curate while living in Hove (Sussex) between the wars; moved to Crowsley Park after his brother's death; died unmarried, 29 February and was buried at Shiplake, 4 March 1952; will proved 9 June 1952 (estate £34,851).

He inherited Crowsley Park from his father in 1877.

He died 11 January and was buried at Shiplake, 14 January 1927; his will was proved 3 May and 28 October 1927 (estate £99,755). His widow died aged 93 on 6 October 1939; her will was proved November 1939 (estate £31,700).

Baskerville, Geoffrey (1870-1944). Elder son of John Baskerville (1839-1927) and his wife Caroline (d. 1939), daughter of William Charles Henry MD FRS JP of Haffield House (Herefs), born 23 August 1870. A midshipman in the Royal Navy, 1886-90, then an officer in the Royal Fusiliers (2nd Lt, 1890; Capt.; ret. by 1894). Subsequently educated at Christ Church, Oxford (BA (1st class, Modern History), 1898; MA 1901). A member of the Oxford Diocesan Conference of Clergy and Laity, 1909-12. He was an historian, working as an independent scholar and as a researcher for the Historical Manuscripts Commission. Chichele Lecturer in the University of Oxford, 1914; Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Author of Medieval England (1924), English Monks and the Suppression of the Monasteries (1937) and contributions to historical journals and festschrifts. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Crowsley Park from his father in 1927. The estate was requisitioned by the Government for the use of the BBC about 1942.

He died 22 July 1944; his will was proved 10 February 1945 (estate £56,080).

Principal sources

Sir N. Pevsner & J. Sherwood, The buildings of England: Oxfordshire, 1974, pp. 737-38; Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Wiltshire, 2nd edn, 1975, p. 137; VCH Oxfordshire, draft text for Shiplake manors and estates, 2016.

Location of archives

Baskerville family of Crowsley Park: deeds and family papers, 1781-1925 [Oxfordshire History Centre, OA/E/7]

Baskerville, Geoffrey (1870-1944): historical notes relating to his work on the suppression of the monasteries, 20th cent. [Bodleian Lib., Oxford, MSS. Eng. misc. c. 634-7, d. 962-72, d. 1021, e. 902-31]

Coat of arms

Baskerville family of Woolley Grange and Crowsley Park: Argent, a chevron gules between three hurts.

Can you help?

• I should be most grateful if anyone can provide photographs or portraits of people whose names appear in bold above, and who are not already illustrated.
• Any additions or corrections to the account given above will be gratefully received and incorporated. I am always particularly pleased to hear from members of the family who can supply recent personal information for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 24 September 2020 and updated 5 June 2021. I am grateful to Isha Drew for a correction.

(430) Baskerville of Richardson, Winterbourne Bassett

Baskerville of Richardson

This family traced its descent from Simon Baskerville (d. 1552?), whose now lost monument in Winterbourne Bassett church stated that he was the son of Sir Walter Baskerville, kt., of Eardisley (Herefs). He married Elizabeth, the widow of William Hutchins, owner of the Richardson estate in Winterbourne Bassett (Wilts), whose infant son by her first marriage, Thomas Hutchins (d. 1607), inherited the estate. Simon and Elizabeth produced at least three further sons, who grew up alongside their half-brother at Richardson, and they were evidently close. When Simon's eldest son, William Baskerville of Wanborough, died in 1604, Thomas Hutchins was one of his legatees, and Thomas, who had no children, settled the Richardson estate and an adjoining property in Berwick Bassett on his half-nephew, Thomas Baskerville (1575-1621). Thomas added to this property by buying the manorial estate in Winterbourne Bassett in 1614, creating a compact property that descended to his son Francis Baskerville (b. 1615) and grandson Thomas Baskerville (c.1640-1717). It was probably Thomas who was responsible for layout formal grounds around the manor house of Richardson, perhaps about the time when he was High Sheriff of Wiltshire in 1698-99.

Thomas Baskerville, who married Mary Jones from Hanham (Glos) near Bristol, produced twelve sons (of whom probably only six survived to maturity) and no daughters. The eldest surviving son, Richard Baskerville (1665-1739) was educated at Oxford and served his turn as High Sheriff in 1736, but at some point he moved from Richardson to the city of Salisbury, which may indicate a need for financial retrenchment. He and his wife produced three surviving children: a son and two daughters. Unfortunately, it would seem that the son, Thomas Baskerville (c.1700-59), fell out with his parents and inherited only the entailed estate. Perhaps as a result, he got into financial difficulties, and in 1754 he was obliged to sell the Richardson estate to Henry Fox (d. 1774), later Lord Holland. Fox had no use for the house at Richardson, and it eventually fell into disrepair and had been pulled down by the mid 19th century: no visual record of it has been traced.

Poulton House, Marlborough

Thomas' will gives some clues to his personality and lifestyle, and suggest that he was not an easy man. He was separated from his third wife and left most of his personal estate to his mistress and his two children by her. His surviving entailed property passed to his son, Thomas Baskerville (1735-1817), an army officer who served with distinction in the Seven Years' War and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He retired from the army sometime after 1782 and settled on his Wiltshire property. Since there was no longer a house of any consequence on his lands, he rented Poulton House on the outskirts of Marlborough from the Earl of Ailesbury, and lived there until his death. He was twice married, but had no issue, so he bequeathed his properties to his first cousin twice removed, Thomas Baskerville Mynors (1790-1864) , who took the name Baskerville in 1818. After Mynors Baskerville inherited further property at Aberedw and Clyro, however, the Wiltshire estate became peripheral to his landed interests, and was largely sold by his son in the later 19th century.

Richardson, Winterbourne Bassett, Wiltshire

An estate of some 460 acres around a small settlement close to the boundary with Berwick Bassett parish, which shrank from 31 taxpayers in 1377 to a manor house and one farmstead by the mid 16th century; the earthworks of the lost village are still evident in a field east of the present buildings. In the late 17th and early 18th century the manor house was a substantial building set in formal gardens, while the surrounding landscape included a number of small plantations and a drive connecting the house directly to the Swindon-Avebury road (now the A4361). After the property was sold to Lord Holland in 1754, however, the house fell out of gentry use and was eventually demolished and replaced by a number of cottages. No illustration of the house has yet come to light.

Descent: Thomas Hutchins (d. 1607) settled the estate on himself for life, with reversion to Thomas Baskerville (1575-1621); to son, Francis Baskerville (b. 1615; d. by 1685); to son, Thomas Baskerville (c.1640-1717); to son, Richard Baskerville (1665-1739); to son, Thomas Baskerville (c.1700-59), who sold 1754 to Henry Fox (d. 1774), 1st Baron Holland...

Baskerville of Richardson, Winterbourne Bassett

Baskerville, Simon (d. 1602). Said to have been the son of Sir Walter Baskerville (d. 1505), kt. of Eardisley (Herefs) and and his second wife Elizabeth, daughter of Henry ap Melo ap Harry, of Poston (Herefs). He married Elizabeth, daughter of [forename unknown] Brand and widow of William Hutchins of Richardson, and had issue:

(1) William Baskerville (d. 1604) of Wanborough (Wilts); subscribed towards the defence of England at the time of the Spanish Armada, 1588; married Jennifer Hutchins (d. 1615) and had issue one son (who died in infancy) and two daughters; died 29 September 1604 and was buried at Winterbourne Bassett; will proved in the PCC, 22 June 1605;

(2) Thomas Baskerville; married and had issue one son (who died without issue);

(3) George Baskerville (fl. 1573-78) (q.v.).

He lived at Winterbourne Basset (Wilts).

He was buried at Winterbourne Bassett, perhaps in 1552; he was formerly commemorated by a monument there, now lost, which is variously recorded as giving his date of death as 1552 and 1602; the former seems more likely. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Baskerville, George (fl. 1573-78). Youngest son of Simon Baskerville (d. 1552?) of Winterbourne Bassett (Wilts) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of [forename unknown] Brand and widow of William Hutchins of Richardson (Wilts). He married Eleanor Quarrel or Quarles (d. c.1605) of Buckland? (Glos), and had issue:

(1) Simon Baskerville (b. 1573), baptised 25 August 1573; went to sea about 1588 and died without issue;

(2) Thomas Baskerville (1575-1621) (q.v.);

(3) Anne Baskerville (1578-c.1644), baptised at Tewkesbury, 25 September 1578; married, 18 May 1601 at St Clement Danes, London, Edward Holmes (d. by 1620); died about 1644.

He lived at Tewkesbury (Glos).

His date of death is unknown. His wife died c.1605.

Baskerville, Thomas (1575-1621). Second son of George Baskerville of Tewkesbury and his wife Eleanor Quarrel or Quarles of Buckland? (Glos), baptised at Tewkesbury, 14 November 1575. JP for Wiltshire. He married* Joan Lor[de?] (d. 1642?), and had issue:

(1) Jenever [Jennifer] Baskerville (c.1600-39); married, about January 1617/8, John Grubbe (c.1590-1649) of Potterne (Wilts), and had issue at least three sons and one daughter; buried at Potterne, 9 August 1639;

(2) Catherine Baskerville (fl. 1622); married, 17 December 1622 at Potterne, Henry Grubbe (d.1630) of Devizes (Wilts), but had no issue;

(3) Thomas Baskerville; died young in the lifetime of his father;

(4) William Baskerville; died young in the lifetime of his father;

(5) Mary Baskerville; married William Riven.

(6) Francis Baskerville (b. 1615) (q.v.);

(7) Elizabeth Baskerville (d. 1650); under 18 in 1620; married, 1633 (bond 19 February), John Lambe (b. c.1611), son of Sir John Lambe (d. 1665) of Stourton (Wilts); buried at Stourton, 31 May 1650;

(8) Anne Baskerville (d. 1681); under 18 in 1620; married John Polwhele MP (1606-77) of Polwhele and Treworgan Manor, St. Erme (Cornw), son of Thomas Polwhele of Polwhele, and had issue six sons and three daughters; will proved 1681.

He inherited the Richardson estate at Winterbourne Bassett and a further estate at Berwick Bassett which subsequently descended with the Richardson property from Thomas Hutchins (d. 1607), who was his half-uncle. In 1614 he added to this estate by purchasing the manor of Winterbourne Bassett.

He died on or about 14 January 1621; his will was proved 7 May 1621. His widow was living in 1631 (when she was said to be 44 but must have been rather older); she is said to have died 16 January 1642.

* Some sources give a date of 1604 for this marriage but it must have been earlier.

Baskerville, Francis (b. 1615). Only surviving son of Thomas Baskerville of Richardston (Wilts) and his wife Joan Lor(de?), born 1615. MP for Marlborough, 1640. He was a ward of the Crown and was granted livery of his lands, 1637. He married, 2 April 1635 at Broad Hinton (Wilts), Margaret (1622-96), second daughter of Sir John Glanville of Broad Hinton, and had issue:

(1) Walter Baskerville (b. 1636), born and baptised 1 November 1636; educated at Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1653/4); died without issue in the lifetime of his father and was buried at Winterbourne Bassett;

(2) Thomas Baskerville (c.1640-1717) (q.v.);

(3) Francis Baskerville (c.1646-1723) of Little Somerford (Wilts); married, before 1693, Mary [surname unknown] (c.1654-1709) and had issue two sons and three daughters; buried at Little Somerford, 4 July 1723; 

(4) John Baskerville (fl. 1690);

(5) Winifred Baskerville (d. 1708); married, 16 September 1675 at Devizes, Alexander Ker (fl. 1708) and had issue; buried at Hungerford, 27 April 1708;

(6) Mary Baskerville (fl. 1690);

(7) Elizabeth Baskerville (fl. 1690);

(8) A daughter; died before 1690.

He inherited the Richardson estate from his father in 1621 and came of age in 1636.

He died before 1685. His wife died 28 March 1696 and was buried at Winterbourne Bassett, where she is commemorated by a monument; her will was proved at Salisbury, 1696.

Baskerville, Thomas (c.1640-1717). Second, but eldest surviving, son of Francis Baskerville (b. 1615) and his wife Margaret, second daughter of Sir John Glanville of Broad Hinton (Wilts), born about 1640. High Sheriff of Wiltshire, 1698-99. He married, 1662/3 (bond 17 December; settlement 1663), Mary (c.1643-1724), daughter of Richard Jones of Hanham (Glos), and had issue:

(1) John Baskerville; mentioned on his father's monument; probably died young before 1679;

(2) Richard Baskerville (1665-1739) (q.v.);

(3) Francis Baskerville (b. 1668), baptised at Winterbourne Bassett, 25 September 1668; 

(4) Walter Baskerville (1670-73), baptised at Winterbourne Bassett, 10 April 1670; died young and was buried at Winterbourne Bassett, 20 August 1673;

(5) Thomas Baskerville; died in infancy;

(6) Thomas Baskerville;

(7) Septimus Baskerville (1673-76), baptised at Winterbourne Bassett, 25 June 1673; died young and was buried at Winterbourne Bassett, 27 February 1675/6;

(8) Simon Baskerville (b. 1675), baptised at Winterbourne Bassett, 1 April 1675; lived at Trowbridge; married, 31 July 1705 at Upton Noble (Som,), Elizabeth Broadrip, and had issue one son; died before 1723;

(9) William Baskerville (1678-1754), possibly to be identified with the unnamed child of these parents born 23 January and baptised at Winterbourne Bassett, 8 February 1677/8; married, 1699 (bond 27 March), Elizabeth (1681-1751), daughter of Edward Tapp of Marlborough (Wilts), and had issue two sons and five daughters; buried at Berwick Bassett (Wilts), 30 December 1754; his will was proved at Salisbury, 6 July 1768;

(10) John Baskerville (1679-1761), baptised at Marlborough, 18 November 1679; clothier in Salisbury; married 1st, 23 June 1709 at St Edmund, Salisbury, Mary Harris (1686?-1731), but apparently had no issue; married 2nd, 13 August 1750 at St Edmund, Salisbury, Hannah Whitehart (1715-89), but again had no issue; buried at St Edmund, Salisbury, 13 February 1761; will proved 8 April 1761;

(11) George Baskerville (1681-1755), baptised at Winterbourne Bassett 2 December 1681; youngest surviving son in 1723; married, c.1703, Elizabeth [surname unknown] and had issue six sons and three daughters; died 20 May 1755;

(12) Walter Baskerville (b. 1684), baptised at Winterbourne Basset, 4 September 1684; probably died young and certainly before 1723.

He inherited the Richardson estate from his father before 1685.

He was buried at Winterbourne Bassett, 12 February 1716/7, where he was commemorated by a monument. His widow was buried at Winterbourne Bassett, 3 March 1724, where she was also commemorated by a monument; her will was proved in Salisbury, 10 March 1724/5.

Baskerville, Richard (1665-1739). Second, but eldest surviving son of Thomas Baskerville and his wife Mary, daughter of Richard Jones of Hanham (Glos), baptised at Winterbourne Bassett, 27 December 1665. Educated at Exeter College, Oxford (matriculated 1685). High Sheriff of Wiltshire, 1736. He married, 13 April 1699 at Wembdon (Som.), Jane (1667-1746), daughter of Sir William Gore, kt., of Barrow Court (Som.) and widow of Richard Rayner, and had issue:

(1) Thomas Baskerville (c.1700-59) (q.v.);

(2) Meliora Baskerville (1701-73), baptised at Clyffe Pypard (Wilts), 10 December 1701; married, 1726 (settlement 23 August), Thomas Baskerville (d. 1740) of Aberedw Court, and had issue one son and two daughters; buried at Aberedw, 14 February 1773; administration of goods granted at Brecon, 1775;

(3) Jane Baskerville (d. c.1755); married, after 1731, Thomas Reading (1709-93) of Salisbury (Wilts), solicitor, but died without issue between 1752 and 1758;

(4) Walter Baskerville; died in infancy and is mentioned on his father's monument;

(5) Richard Baskerville; died in infancy and is mentioned on his father's monument.

He inherited the Richardson estate from his father in 1717, but lived latterly at Salisbury.

He died 13/14 September and was buried at Winterbourne Bassett, 20 September 1739, where he is commemorated by a monument; his will was proved in the PCC, 18 December 1740. His widow was buried at Barrow Gurney (Som.), 10 December 1746; her will was proved in the PCC, 31 March 1747.

Baskerville, Thomas (c.1700-59). Only surviving son of Richard Baskerville (1665-1739) and his wife Jane, daughter of Sir William Gore, kt., of Barrow Court (Som.) and widow of Richard Rayner, born about 1700. He evidently fell out with his parents as he was not a beneficiary under either of their wills (and even his children were excluded from his father's will) and he appears to have inherited only the entailed estate; this may explain why he got into financial difficulties and was obliged to sell the Richardson estate. He married 1st, 15 March 1715/6 at St Edmund, Salisbury, Prudence (b. 1697), daughter of Thomas Holmes of Salisbury; 2nd, 16 May 1728 at Broad Hinton (Wilts), his cousin, Mary (b. 1713), daughter of George Baskerville of Winterbourne Bassett (Wilts), and 3rd, 3 December 1737 at Laverstock (Wilts), Mrs. Jane Trevor (d. 1772?), widow, from whom he was evidently later separated, and had issue:

(1.1) Hannibal Baskerville (1724-59?), baptised at St Edmund, Salisbury, 27 May 1724; married, 1749 in Horsham (Sussex), Lydia, and was buried at Horsham, 24 February 1759;

(1.2) John Baskerville (fl. 1761); living in 1761;

(2.1) Meliora Baskerville (1733-73), baptised at Winterbourne Bassett, 30 April 1733; lived in Marlborough (Wilts); died unmarried and was buried at Winterbourne Bassett, 17 February 1773;

(2.2) Lt-Col. Thomas Baskerville (1735-1817) (q.v.).

He also had a long-term mistress, "my faithful friend, Ann Peck, who hath long lived with me", by whom he had issue:

(X1) John Peck;

(X2) Sophia Peck.

He inherited the Richardson estate from his father in 1739, but sold it in 1754 to Henry Fox (d. 1774), later 1st Baron Holland. He lived subsequently at Salisbury (Wilts), but ended his days with his mistress in Southwark (Surrey).

He was buried at St George, Southwark, 10 November 1759; by his will proved in the PCC, 6 November 1759, he left his widow and son only a shilling; his legitimate daughter received one quarter of his estate and his mistress and his two illegitimate children received the remainder. His first wife died before 1728. His second wife died before 1737. His widow may be the Jane Baskerville buried at St Martin, Salisbury, 6 May 1772.

Baskerville, Lt-Col. Thomas (1735-1817). Only surviving son of Thomas Baskerville (c.1700-59) and his second wife Mary, daughter of George Baskerville of Winterbourne Basset (Wilts), baptised at Winterbourne Bassett, 18 July 1735. An officer in the 50th and later the 65th Foot (Ensign, 1757; Lt., 1760; Capt., 1768; Maj., 1776; Lt-Col., 1782), who served with distinction in Germany in the Seven Years War. JP for Wiltshire. He married 1st, c.1764, Anne (d. 1768), only daughter of Rev. James O'Neill of Kilbarron (Donegal) and 2nd, September 1772, Jane (d. 1809), youngest daughter of Thomas Bishop of Kinsale, but had no issue.

He lived at Poulton House, Mildenhall. At his death, his property and that purchased by his trustees at Aldbourne, Manton in Preshute and Marlborough (Wilts) passed to his kinsman Thomas Baskerville Mynors-Baskerville (q.v.).

He died aged 85 on 4 May and was buried at Mildenhall, 13 May 1817; his will was proved 19 June 1817. His first wife died in 1768. His second wife died 23 January 1809.

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1850, i, pp. 63-64; Burke's Landed Gentry, 1952, p. 125; VCH Wiltshire, vol. 12, 1983, pp. 184-92.

Location of archives

Baskerville of Richardson: deeds and family papers, 1276-early 19th cent. [Wiltshire & Swindon Archives, 799]

Coat of arms

Baskerville of Richardson: Argent, a chevron gules between three hurts.

Can you help?

• Can anyone supply an image of the house at Richardson before it was pulled down in the late 18th or early 19th century?
• Does anyone know what happened to John and Sophia Peck, the illegitimate children of Thomas Baskerville and Ann Peck?
• I should be most grateful if anyone can provide photographs or portraits of people whose names appear in bold above, and who are not already illustrated.
• Any additions or corrections to the account given above will be gratefully received and incorporated.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 15 September 2020 and was updated 14 October 2021 and 17 April 2024. I am grateful to Steve Hunt for a correction.

(429) Baskerville (later Mynors-Baskerville) of Eardisley, Pontrilas and Clyro

Baskerville of Eardisley 

The name of Baskerville appeared on the 'Battle Abbey roll' listing the knights who accompanied William the Conqueror on his invasion of England in 1066, and the family were soon afterwards settled at Eardisley in Herefordshire, where they had a castle by 1251 and probably rather earlier. At the beginning of the 15th century, Sir John Baskerville was a knight in the retinue of King Henry V, and fought at Agincourt. He was again summoned for service in France in 1421-22, and he may on that occasion have been accompanied by his elder son, also Sir John Baskerville (1403-55), kt., with whom the genealogy below begins. The younger Sir John married a daughter of John Touchet, 4th Baron Audley, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir James Baskerville (d. 1499), kt., who was thrice sheriff of Herefordshire and also served as a knight of the shire in the Parliament of 1476. The family adhered to the Lancastrian cause in the Wars of the Roses, and Sir James was made a knight banneret by King Henry VII after the Battle of Stoke Field in 1487. Sir James married the daughter of Walter Devereux, Baron Ferrers of Chartley and produced five sons. The eldest, Sir Walter Baskerville (d. 1505), kt., inherited Eardisley, while from the second descended the Baskervilles of Bayworth.

Sir Walter Baskerville (d. 1505) was made a Knight of the Bath at the marriage of Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon in 1501, a mark of the closeness of the family to the Tudor regime at this time. He was married twice, and produced eight sons by his two marriages. The eldest, Sir James Baskerville (c.1482-1546), kt, was High Sheriff in 1523-24 and probably MP for the county in 1529, and inherited Eardisley, which seems to have remained the family's chief seat throughout the 16th century. It is not clear, however, what manner of building they occupied. The castle was said to be ruinous in 1374 and although Henry IV ordered it to be refortified in 1403, archaeology suggests that it was never developed into a house suitable for the occupation of a leading gentry family. It seems probable, therefore, that at some point - probably in the 15th or early 16th century - a new house was built within the castle bailey, on the site now occupied by Castle Farm. Sadly nothing is known of this dwelling, which may well have been of considerable size and status.

Sir James married a Herefordshire heiress, Elizabeth Breynton, and had five sons and four daughters. His eldest son was another Sir James Baskerville (c.1516-73), kt., who married a daughter of Walter Devereux, 1st Viscount Hereford, a leading courtier and power in south Wales. During his father's lifetime he was principally active in Pembrokeshire and adjacent counties, but on his father's death he returned to Herefordshire, where he served as MP in 1547 and perhaps again in 1553. He does not seem to have been a strong supporter or opponent of the Reformation, and as a result seems to have weathered the religious changes of the time easily enough. He had no legitimate issue (although he did have at least two sons by a mistress), so on his death the Eardisley estate passed to his brother John Baskerville (d. 1577) of Vowchurch, and then in quick succession to John's son and grandson, Humphrey Baskerville (c.1533-87) and John Baskerville (d. 1589). John's heir was his infant son, Humphrey (1586-1648), who became a ward of the Crown and was sent to study at the Inner Temple before travelling abroad. He was knighted in 1609 and embarked on a career in public office, becoming a JP, serving as High Sheriff in 1610-11 and as MP for Leominster in 1614. By that time he had made a socially advantageous marriage to Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir Thomas Coningsby of Hampton Court. But this promising career was brought to a shuddering halt soon afterwards when unknown financial problems reduced his income to a tenth of what it had been. Reluctantly, his father-in-law made additional provision in his will for Elizabeth and for the couple's eldest son, Thomas Baskerville (1615-83), but Sir Humphrey never managed to get his finances back on an even keel. As a result, when the family house at Eardisley burned down during the Civil War (whether as a result of fighting or by accident is not clear), he was in no position to rebuild it. Only a gatehouse survived the fire, and here his son Thomas (who unlike his father, supported the Parliamentarian faction) continued to live in the Restoration period. The estate passed at his death to his son Francis (d. 1724), who sold it shortly afterwards.

The fourth son of Sir Walter Baskerville (d. 1505) was Thomas Baskerville (d. 1551), who was probably the man of this name who served as High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1527-28. He settled at Pontrilas, close to the border of Herefordshire and Monmouthshire, and married Alice, daughter of Roger Hargest, but had no legitimate children. He did, however, produce two sons by a mistress, the younger of whom, Walter Baskerville (d. 1587), inherited his property at Pontrilas. Walter's son and heir, James Baskerville (d. 1634) outlived his eldest son and bequeathed his property to his grandson, Walter Baskerville (d. 1640). It is not clear which of them was responsible for building the present Pontrilas Court, but on stylistic grounds it was probably built in the years before the Civil War. Walter died young, leaving as heir his elder son Humphrey Baskerville (b. c.1633), who married in 1654 and produced two daughters but no sons. He evidently died between 1665 and 1674 leaving his daughters as co-heirs to Pontrilas, and they and their husbands later sold the estate to a London merchant.

A further cadet branch of the family sprang from Humphrey Baskerville (d. 1572), the fifth and youngest son of Sir James Baskerville (d. 1546) of Eardisley. He has sometimes been confused with a contemporary of the same name who was a merchant and alderman of London and died in 1563. This Humphrey, however, married the daughter and heiress of John ap Gwillym of Llanbedr and Aberedw (Radnorshire), and their descendants owned these properties until the mid 19th century. Although they were accounted gentry in impoverished Radnorshire, none of them served as justices of the peace, let alone High Sheriff, until they married into greater wealth in the 18th century. Humphrey was succeeded by his son John Baskerville (d. 1599), and then by Thomas (d. c.1637), James (d. 1667) and James (d. c.1688). The last-named is said to have killed a neighbour, Col. Powell, in a duel resulting from a dispute at a cockfight in Presteigne. His son, Thomas Baskerville (c.1668-1720) evidently lived beyond his means, and his will, drafted in 1717, includes a long list of debts totalling over £2,100 which he owed and which his executors were charged with settling. His son, Thomas Baskerville (c.1701-40), recovered the position somewhat by marrying his distant kinswoman, Meliora Baskerville (1701-73), daughter of Richard Baskerville of Richardson (Wilts) [for whom see my next post]. Their only son, another Thomas, died in 1748 before coming of age, so the Aberedw estate passed to his surviving sister, Philippa Baskerville (1738-71), who carried the estate in marriage to the Rev. John Powell (1737-1819), who also inherited the Clyro Court estate from his father. 

Treago Castle in 1984. Image: Nick Kingsley. Some rights reserved. 

The Powells had only one child, a daughter called Meliora (c.1768-1829), who marred Peter Rickards (later Mynors) (1754-94) of Treago Castle (Herefs), a fine fortified house: the Mynors family of Treago will be the subject of a future post. Peter divided his estates between his two sons, with the elder, Peter Rickards Mynors (1787-1866) receiving Treago and the younger, Thomas Baskerville Mynors (1790-1864) receiving Clyro and Aberedw.  Thomas had already inherited the Wiltshire property of his kinsman, Lt-Col. Thomas Baskerville (1735-1817) and had taken the name Baskerville as a condition of that bequest. He lived at first at Rockley House (Wilts), which he rented, but in 1839 he rebuilt Clyro Court on a grand scale and moved there. His property passed to his eldest son, Walter Thomas Mynors Baskerville (1839-97), who seems to have dispersed the Wiltshire and parts of the Aberedw estates. In 1875 he married Bertha Hopton (1848-92), the only daughter and heiress of John Hopton of Canon Frome Court (Herefs), a fine late 18th century house designed by the leading provincial architect in the south-west Midlands, Anthony Keck.

Canon Frome Court in 2013. Image: Philip Pankhurst. Some rights reserved. 

When Walter died in 1897 he left Canon Frome to his elder daughter, Sybil Maud Baskerville (1877-1942), who took the name Hopton the following year, while Clyro and the remnants of his other estates passed to his only son, Ralph Hopton Baskerville (1883-1918), who let Clyro Court. Walter's younger daughter, Dorothy Nesta Baskerville (1880-1954) did not inherit any property directly, and in 1903 she married Commander B.A. Pratt-Barlow (1874-1914). He was killed when HMS Hawke was torpedoed at the start of the First World War in 1914, leaving as their only surviving child a daughter, Mary Pamela Pratt-Barlow (1905-48). In 1918, on the death of her brother, Dorothy inherited Clyro Court, which she continued to let. When her sister died in 1942 Canon Frome Court passed to Dorothy's daughter, Mary Pamela, by then the wife of Maj. Otho Cadwallader Adams (1901-61), and they took the name Hopton. The family connections with the Clyro and Canon Frome estate were finally broken in the mid 20th century, with the sale of Clyro to Radnorshire County Council in 1946 and of Canon Frome to Herefordshire County Council in 1957.

Eardisley Castle, Herefordshire

A border castle, possibly the site of Roger de Lacy's 'domus defensabilis' mentioned in the Domesday Book, which came into the possession of the Baskerville family by 1251 and perhaps earlier. Archaeological evidence suggests the castle was occupied chiefly in the 12th and 13th century and was originally of motte and bailey construction, later reinforced with rubble stone buildings. It was plundered in 1262 and the bishop of Hereford and sheriff of Gloucestershire were imprisoned here the following year. It was already said to be ruinous in 1374, but Henry IV ordered it to be refortified against Owain Glendower in 1403, although it is not clear what, if anything was done. All that remains today is a large oval moated enclosure with a mound in the south-west corner, which is now about 42 feet across at the top and about fourteen feet high. It could represent a small motte or the buried base of a 13th century circular tower keep. The moat was partly filled in in 1971-72. 

It seems very likely that the site saw later development as it remained in occupation as the principal residence of the Baskervilles until at least the Civil War, but nothing is known about the late medieval or Tudor house, which was perhaps built within the bailey. The castle is said to have been burned to the ground during the Civil War in 1642, with only a gatehouse escaping ruin. This was occupied until 1684 by the family, who were described as living in some poverty; in 1665 the surviving fragment of the house had just five hearths. In the 1680s, the estate was sold to William Barnesley, a London cloth merchant, who built Eardisley Park as a replacement for the castle, and he was probably also responsible for building a new three bay brick farmhouse (now called Castle Farm) within the bailey, dated 1705, which may stand on the site of the putative Tudor building. This has a symmetrical entrance front with a plain shell-hooded doorway, and a detached L-plan office range to the north. 

Descent: Sir John Baskerville (1403-55), kt.; to son, Sir James Baskerville (d. 1499), kt.; to son, Sir Walter Baskerville (d. 1505), KB; to son, Sir James Baskerville (c.1482-1546), kt.; to son, Sir James Baskerville (c.1516-73), kt.; to brother, John Baskerville (d. 1577); to son, Humphrey Baskerville (c.1533-87); to son, John Baskerville (d. 1589); to son, Sir Humphrey Baskerville (1586-1648), kt.; burned in the 1640s and not rebuilt; to son, Thomas Baskerville (1615-83); sold after his death to William Barnesley, who demolished the ruins and built a new house on a different site.

Pontrilas Court, Herefordshire

Pontrilas Court: entrance front (Image: Historic England)

A rather fine two-storey house with attics and gabled dormers, probably built for James Baskerville (d. 1634) or his grandson, Walter Baskerville (d. 1640), which was taxed on eight hearths in 1665. It is constructed of sandstone rubble with ashlar dressings and has a modern tiled roof. The north-facing entrance front has a tall gabled porch with a round-headed entrance arch, set left of centre at the end of a screens passage, running through to a rear door on the garden front. The three first-floor windows are mullioned and transomed, and have five lights, while on the ground floor there are two pairs of four-light windows either side of the porch; all the windows have pretty early 19th century glazing. To the left of the house is a late 17th century service wing, forming an L-shape, which was further altered in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Pontrilas Court: garden front in the mid 19th century, before later alterations. (Image: Historic England)

The south-facing garden front is also basically 17th century, but was altered more in the 19th century. A mid 19th century drawing seems to show its original appearance, with four evenly spaced gables, the second of which from the left belonged to a full-height porch tower, while the others were gabled dormers. Between the porch and the rear entrance to the screens passage was the broad chimneybreast of the hall fireplace, with a spiral staircase squeezed in next to it. Later in the 19th century the left hand gabled dormer was replaced by a two-storey canted bay with a crenellated top. Possibly as late as 1920, a new rear lobby and a room with an eight-light canted bay window with mullions and two transoms was constructed in front of bays three and four.

Pontrilas Court: garden front in the early 20th century, from an old postcard.

Pontrilas Court: ground plan

Inside, the hall and the parlour beyond it have ceilings of fine intersecting moulded beams with attractive plaster decoration between the beams, while the room to the left of the screens passage has a more elaborate plaster ceiling with a geometrical design. There is also a surviving modest plaster ceiling in the rear porch. In the grounds there is a handsome square timber-framed dovecote and a square-panelled former stable block, perhaps both of c.1700. 

Descent: Thomas Baskerville (d. 1551); to illegitimate son, Walter Baskerville (d. 1587); to son James Baskerville (d. 1634); to grandson, Walter Baskerville (d. 1640); to son, Humphrey Baskerville (b. c.1633); to daughters, Ann (1655-85), wife of Sir John Williams (c.1651-1704), 2nd bt. and Mary (b. 1656), wife of Sir Edward Morgan (d. 1682), 3rd bt. and later of John Grubham Howe (c.1657-1721); sold to Philip Jackson; to son, Edward Jackson; to son, Philip Jackson; to cousin, Philip Jackson (d. 1758); to niece, Mary, wife of Henry Shiffner MP; to son, Sir George Shiffner (1762-1842), 1st bt.; sold 1815 to Dr. Trenchard; sold c.1840 to Col. Scudamore of Kentchurch Court...sold 1919... sold 1993.

Aberedw Court, Radnorshire

Almost nothing is known about this seat of a cadet branch of the Baskerville family, as no photograph or drawing is known to survive. It was an ancient timber-framed building, perhaps built in the 16th century when the estate first came to the Baskervilles. Probably after 1740 the family ceased to be resident and the house was occupied by the estate steward until the estate was broken up from the mid 19th century onwards. It was demolished probably in the third quarter of the 19th century and replaced by the present Court Farm.

Descent: John ap Gwillym; to daughter Eleanor, wife of Humphrey Baskerville (d. 1572); to son, John Baskerville (d. 1599); to son, Thomas Baskerville (d. c.1637); to son, James Baskerville (d. 1667); to son, James Baskerville (d. c.1688); to son, Thomas Baskerville (c.1668-1720); to son, Thomas Baskerville (c.1701-40); to daughter Philippa (1738-71), wife of Rev. John Powell (1737-1819); to grandson, Thomas Baskerville Mynors (later Baskerville) (1790-1864); to son, Walter Thomas Mynors Baskerville (1839-97); to son, Ralph Hopton Baskerville (1883-1918), who completed the break-up of the estate.

Clyro Court, Radnorshire

Clyro Court: entrance front. Image: Trip Advisor

A big-boned square neo-Jacobean house with symmetrical fronts, probably designed by Edward Haycock of Shrewsbury for Thomas Baskerville Mynors-Baskerville and dated 1839 on the foundation stone inside. It is built of ashlar with pronounced vermiculated quoins, string courses, and ornate gables with ball finials. The entrance front is of five bays, with the wider  outer bays having large shaped gables and the centre having a three-arched porch. The simplified external detail (e.g. of the pedimented window architraves) is more Grecian than Jacobean. The main garden front, at right-angles to the entrance side, has three shaped gables and a central bay window. 

Clyro Court: garden front and rear service wing in the early 20th century, from an old postcard.

When advertised to be let in 1904 the house contained an entrance hall, staircase gallery, drawing room, dining room, morning room, library and billiard room; eight best bedrooms and five dressing rooms and 17 further bedrooms. The main interiors are well-preserved, despite conversion to hotel use. There is a large entrance hall with panelled archways, leading to an impressive top-lit inner hall with a large lantern above a deep ribbed coved ceiling, similar to that at Haycock's Stanage Park. This contains an Imperial staircase rising to a 

Clyro Court: staircase hall

gallery with ironwork balusters of alternating designs. The reception rooms mostly have plaster ceilings, cornice mouldings, marble chimneypieces and panelled shutters decorated in a mixture Grecian and Jacobean forms, but the dining room has reused oak panelling, reputedly made up from the 18th century box pews removed from Clyro church. The former library is largely panelled with glass-fronted and open bookshelves. One room (now used as an office) has a marble chimneypiece with a frieze of chariot-racing putti, perhaps also reused. After being let for some years, the house was modernised and provided with electric light in 1906, apparently with a view to R.H. Baskerville moving back into it on his marriage, but the marriage never took place and the house was let again soon afterwards.

After the Second World War the house was sold to Radnorshire County Council and became a school; it was sold again in 1976 and converted into an hotel and health farm. This in turn was bought in 1984 by the present owner and restored as the Baskerville Hall Hotel. It is said that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a friend of the family, and was inspired to write The Hound of the Baskervilles while staying at Clyro, although it is set in Devon.

The former stable court, now a separate property called Cil-y-Bleiddiau, is probably also by Haycock. It is built on a U-plan with a central range of seven bays, and a shaped gable and a cupola in the centre. 

Descent: built for Thomas Baskerville Mynors-Baskerville (1790-1864); to son, Walter Thomas Mynors-Baskerville (1839-97); to son, Ralph Hopton Mynors-Baskerville (1883-1918); to sister, Dorothy Nesta Baskerville (1880-1954), wife of Cmdr. Bernhard Pratt-Barlow (1874-1914); sold 1946 to Radnorshire County Council; transferred 1974 to Powys County Council; sold 1976; sold 1984 to David Hodby. The house was let from 1898-1904 to Thomas Henry Ashton (d. 1900) and his widow, from 1906-09 to Henry Partridge; and from 1909-30 to Capt. Spyridion Mavrojani (c.1867-1930).

Baskerville (later Mynors-Baskerville) family of Eardisley

Baskerville, Sir John (1403-55), kt. Elder son of Sir John Baskerville and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Brugge of Letton and Staunton (Herefs), born 12 February 1403. Neither the date nor the occasion of his knighthood are recorded, but it is possible he was old enough to accompany his father to France in the service of King Henry V in 1421-22. He married the Hon. Elizabeth, daughter of John Touchet, 4th Baron Audley, and had issue:

(1) Sir James Baskerville (d. 1499), kt. (q.v.);

(2) Henry Baskerville;

(3) Humphrey Baskerville;

(4) Sibyl Baskerville (d. 1466?); married Richard Rowdon (d. 1465?) of Rowdon, and had issue one son; said to have died in childbirth, 1466;

(5) John Baskerville, of Wootton in Wellington (Herefs); married Eleanor (d. c.1518?), daughter and coheiress of [fu] Holcott of Wootton, and had issue three? daughters.

He inherited the Eardisley estate from his father.

He died 23 December 1455. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Baskerville, Sir James (d. 1499), kt. Eldest son of Sir John Baskerville (1403-55) and his wife the Hon. Elizabeth, daughter of John Touchet, 4th Baron Audley. MP for Herefordshire, 1476; High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1460-61, 1474-75 and 1481-82. He was knighted during his shrievalty, 1474, and made a knight banneret on the field of the Battle of Stoke, 1487. He married, by 1458, the Hon. Sybil, daughter of Walter Devereux, 1st (or 8th) Baron Ferrers of Chartley, and had issue:

(1) Sir Walter Baskerville (d. 1505), KB (q.v.);

(2) John Baskerville; married Alice, daughter of John Brydges, and had issue one son (Henry Baskerville (b. 1514?) of Hereford, from whom descended the Baskervilles of Bayworth);

(3) Philip Baskerville (1466?-1508?), said to have been born in 1466; married Sibyl, daughter of Thomas Scudamore, and had issue three sons and four daughters; said to have died in 1508;

(4) Richard Baskerville;

(5) Ralph Baskerville;

(6) Sibyl Baskerville; married Watkin Vaughan (d. 1504) of Hergest (Herefs) and had issue six sons and three daughters;

(7) Joan? Baskerville; married Thomas ap Glyn.

He inherited the Eardisley estate from his father in 1455.

He died 28 January 1498/9: an inquisition post mortem was held 28 April 1499. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Baskerville, Sir Walter (d. 1505), KB. Eldest son of Sir James Baskerville (d. 1499), kt., and his wife Sybil, daughter of Walter Devereux, 1st (or 8th) Baron Ferrers of Chartley, born before 1459. Possibly the man of this name who was High Sheriff of Herefordshire, 1469-70, although he may not then have been of qualifying age. He was made a Knight of the Bath at the marriage of Prince Arthur in 1501. He married 1st, Anne, daughter of Morgan ap Jenkyn ap Philip of Pencoyd, and 2nd, Elizabeth (d. c.1528), daughter of Milo ap Harry of Poston (Herefs), and had issue:

(1.1) Sir James Baskerville (c.1482-1546), kt. (q.v.);

(1.2) John Baskerville; married and had issue one son;

(1.3) Elizabeth Baskerville; married Sanacre Delabere (d. 1516) of Kinnersley (Herefs), and had issue one daughter;

(1.4) Philip Baskerville of Sherborne (Dorset); married Elizabeth, daughter of John Hamlyn of Wiltshire, and had issue three sons [from whom the Baskervilles of Woolley and Crowsley Park, who will be covered by a future post, are said to descend] and one daughter;

(1.5) Thomas Baskerville (d. 1551) [for whom see Baskerville of Pontrilas below];

(2.1) Edward Baskerville;

(2.2) William/Walter Baskerville; 

(2.3) James Baskerville; from whom perhaps descend the Baskervilles of Netherwood;

(2.4) Simon Baskerville (d. 1602?); said to have married Elizabeth, daughter of [forename unknown] Brand and widow of William Hutchins (d. 1552) of Richardson, from whom descend the Baskervilles of Richardson [for whom see my next post]; said rather improbably to have died in 1602 and been buried at Winterbourne Bassett.

He inherited the Eardisley estate from his father in 1499.

He died 4 September 1505; an inquisition post mortem was held 30 October 1508. His first wife's date of death is unknown. His widow died in the late 1520s; an inquisition post mortem was held in 1528-29.

Baskerville, Sir James (c.1482-1546), kt. Eldest son of Sir Walter Baskerville (d. 1505), kt., and his first wife Anne, daughter of Morgan ap Jenkyn ap Philip of Pencoyd, born about 1482. High Sheriff of Herefordshire, 1523-24 and probably MP for Herefordshire, 1529. He married, by 1515, Elizabeth (fl. 1572), daughter and heiress of John Breynton of Stretton Sugwas (Herefs), and had issue:

(1) Sir James Baskerville (d. 1573), kt. (q.v.);

(2) John Baskerville (d. 1577) (q.v.);

(3) Sir Thomas Baskerville (c.1520-72), kt., of Brinsop (Herefs), Birlingham (Worcs) and Woollas Hall, Eckington (Worcs), born before 1520; High Sheriff of Worcestershire, 1555-56, 1563-64 and probably the man of this name who was High Sheriff of Herefordshire, 1548-49; MP for Worcestershire, 1558; JP for Herefordshire, c.1559-72; knighted, 2 October 1563; married 1st, by 1553, Anne (d. after 1567), daughter of Sir Thomas Unton ofWadley (Berks) and widow of John Vampage (d. 1548) of Woollas Hall, but had no issue; married 2nd, by 1570, Eleanor (who m3, John Gage of Wormsley (Herefs)), daughter and co-heir of Richard Abington of Brockhampton (Herefs) and widow of John Dansey (d. c.1569) of Brinsop, and had issue one daughter (Eleanor; married to John Talbot of Grafton, by whom she was mother of the 10th Earl of Shrewsbury); died 17 April 1572; will proved in PCC, 8 July 1572;

(4) Walter Baskerville (c.1522-75) of Eardisley and Staunton-upon-Wye; married Sibyl (fl. 1572), daughter of [forename unknown] Greville, and widow of [forename unknown] Bird and of Thomas Thame of Stowell, but probably had no issue (although his wife had several sons by Mr. Bird); will written 20 July 1575 and proved 8 November 1575;

(5) Humphrey Baskerville (c.1525-72) [for whom see below, Baskerville family of Aberedw Court and Clyro Court];

(6) Sibyll Baskerville (d. 1559); married Sir Robert Whitney (c.1525-67) of Whitney-on-Wye (Herefs) and Icomb (Worcs; now Glos) (who m2, Mary [surname unknown]), MP for Herefordshire in 1559, son of Robert Whitney, and had issue at least three sons; died about April 1559, when her husband was given licence to return home ‘because his wife was lately departed’;

(7) Alice Baskerville; married Thomas Wilford;

(8) Elizabeth Baskerville; married, about 1546, Edmund Vaughan;

(9) Eleanor Baskerville; married, after 1546, Charles Hughes of Killough (Mon.) and had issue four sons and two daughters.

He inherited the Eardisley estate from his father in 1505.

He died 13 November 1546; his will was proved 9 December 1546. His wife was living in 1572 but her date of death is unknown.

Baskerville, Sir James (d. 1573), kt. Eldest son of Sir James Baskerville (c.1482-1546), kt., and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Breynton of Stretton Sugwas (Herefs), born before 1516. Commissioner for tenths of spiritualities in the bishopric of St. Davids, 1535; steward or deputy steward of Pembroke, 1536; mayor of Pembroke, 1537; High Sheriff of Herefordshire, 1542-43, 1550-51, 1564-65; MP for Herefordshire, 1547 and perhaps again in 1553; JP for Herefordshire, 1554, 1559-73. In 1544 he took a company of fifty infantrymen to France for the King's service and he and his father were concerned with musters for the next two years; he was knighted, 24 November 1547. He seems not to have had strong views either way in the religious divisions of his time, being described as 'neuter in religion' by the bishop of Hereford in 1564 and subscribing to the Act of Uniformity in 1569. He married, by November 1537, the Hon. Catherine (b. c.1506), only daughter of Walter Devereux, 3rd Baron Ferrers of Chartley and later 1st Viscount Hereford, but had no issue. He did, however, have at least two illegitimate sons by his mistress, Elizabeth Harris:

(X1) Charles Baskerville alias Harris; mentioned in his father's will;

(X2) Rev. Richard Baskerville (c.1546-1614); apparently educated at Magdalen College, Oxford (MA); rector of Westcote (Glos), 1567-74 and Staunton-upon-Wye (Herefs), 1567-1614; married Margaret, daughter of Rev. Henry Dawkes of Woolstone (Glos), and had issue six sons and three daughters; died about 31 May 1614.

He seems to have been based in south Wales (where his father-in-law was an important figure) until he inherited the Eardisley estate from his father in 1546, and the entailed property of his uncle Thomas Baskerville in 1551. At the time of his death he also owned or leased Stanage Park.

He died 20/28 September 1573; his will was proved 10 February 1573/4. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Baskerville, John (d. 1577). Second son of Sir James Baskerville (d. 1546), kt., and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Breynton of Stretton Sugwas (Herefs), born before 1517. Escheator of Herefordshire, 1552-53; JP for Herefordshire, 1554-56, 1569-77; High Sheriff of Herefordshire, 1555-56, 1570-71. MP for Herefordshire, 1554, 1555. In 1556 he was investigated by the Council for the Marches for the alleged murder of David ap Meredydd, and although the outcome is not known he evidently experienced a period of unpopularity marked by his removal from the bench; he received a general pardon at the accession of Queen Elizabeth I in 1558 and evidently conformed to the Elizabethan settlement. He married, by 1553, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Richard Hargest of Chanstone Court, Vowchurch (Herefs), and had issue:

(1) Humphrey Baskerville (c.1533-87) (q.v.);

(2) Thomas Baskerville; married and had issue one daughter;

(3) Alice Baskerville.

He inherited Chanstone Court, Vowchurch, in right of his wife and the Eardisley estate from his elder brother in 1573.

He died 23 September 1577; an inquisition post mortem was held in 1578. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Baskerville, Humphrey (c.1533-87). Elder son of John Baskerville (d. 1577) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Richard Hargest of Chanstone Court, Vowchurch (Herefs), born about 1533. High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1584-85. He married Elizabeth, daughter of John Scudamore of Holme Lacy (Herefs), and had issue:

(1) John Baskerville (d. 1589) (q.v.);

(2) Katherine Baskerville; married Anthony Rainsford (1548-1622), younger son of Charles Rainsford of Clifford (Herefs);

(3) Sibyl Baskerville (fl. 1587); married, before 1587, James Baskerville of Pontrilas [for whom see below, Baskerville of Pontrilas Court];

(4) Joan Baskerville; married, by 1592, George Middlemore, son of John Middlemore of Hawkeslowe, Kings Norton (Worcs);

(5) Walter Baskerville (d. c.1592), of Staunton-on-Wye (Herefs); probably died unmarried; administration of goods granted, March 1592 and again October 1598;

(6) James Baskerville;

(7) Bridget Baskerville (d. c.1595); married, 1582, Sir Roger Bodenham (b. 1545; fl. 1594), kt., of Rotherwas (Herefs), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died between 1592 and 1598.

He inherited the Eardisley estate from his father in 1577.

He died 22 March 1587.  His wife's date of death is unknown.

Baskerville, John (d. 1589). Eldest son of Humphrey Baskerville (c.1533-87) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of John Scudamore of Holme Lacy, born about 1560. He married, c.1585, Ann, daughter of Richard Southwell of Horsham St. Faith (Norfk), and had issue:

(1) Sir Humphrey Baskerville (1586-1648), kt. (q.v.).

He inherited the Eardisley estate from his father in 1587.

He died 8 January 1588/9; an inquisition post mortem was held in 1589. His widow married 2nd, Richard Davies; her date of death is unknown.

Baskerville, Sir Humphrey (1586-1648), kt. Only child of John Baskerville (d. 1589) and his wife Ann, daughter of Richard Southwell of Horsham St. Faith (Norfk), born 26 October 1586. As a young man he was a ward of the Crown. Educated at Inner Temple (admitted 1604); came of age in 1607 and travelled abroad, 1605-08, 1611-12. Knighted, 7 March 1609. JP for Herefordshire c.1609-26; High Sheriff of Herefordshire, 1610-11; MP for Leominster, 1614; Recorder of Leominster, 1630-41. He apparently suffered a great financial crisis of unknown cause in the years 1614-16 which prompted his father-in-law to make additional provision for his wife and eldest son in his will; according to Thomas Symonds, writing in 1645, his income was reduced from £3,000 a year to £300 a year. He was a moderate Royalist in the Civil War, when his house at Eardisley was burned down, although whether this was due to Parliamentarian action or an accidental fire is unclear. He married, by 1614, Elizabeth (d. 1665), daughter of Sir Thomas Coningsby of Hampton Court (Herefs), and had issue:

(1) Thomas Baskerville (1615-83) (q.v.);

(2) Henry Baskerville (fl. 1634); living in 1634 but probably died young; 

(3) Philippa Baskerville (fl. 1686); married Thomas Coningsby (d. 1695) of Leominster and had issue four daughters; living in 1686;

(4) Humphrey Baskerville (d. 1666), apparently born after 1634 as he is not mentioned in the Visitation pedigree of that year; administration of goods granted 30 April 1666.

He inherited the Eardisley estate from his father in 1589, and came of age in about 1608. His house at Eardisley was burned down during the Civil War in 1642.

He died 3 April 1647/8, and was buried at Eardisley. His wife died in about June 1665 and was buried at Kington (Herefs); her will was proved 27 January 1665/6.

Baskerville, Thomas (1615-83). Elder son of Sir Humphrey Baskerville (1586-1648), kt., and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas Coningsby of Hampton Court (Herefs), born 24 June 1615. He was a Parliamentarian in the Civil War, and was obliged to leave strongly Royalist Herefordshire. After the Parliamentarian victory, he was appointed a Militia Commissioner for Herefordshire, 1648. He married, 1639 at Almeley (Herefs), Frances (d. 1683), daughter of Francis Pember of Newport, and had issue:

(1) John Baskerville (b. c.1640), baptised at Almeley (Herefs), 29 November 1642; 

(2) Rev. Benhaile Baskerville (c.1641-85); baptised at Almeley (Herefs), 29 November 1642; said to have been rector of Eardisley; died unmarried and without issue and was buried at Eardisley, 1 January 1685/6; administration of goods granted to his brother Francis, 11 January 1685/6;

(3) Thomas Baskerville (c.1642-90), baptised at Almeley (Herefs), 29 November 1642; died unmarried and was buried 4 March 1689/90; administration of goods granted to his brother Francis, 25 March 1690;

(4) Francis Baskerville (1643-1724), baptised at Almeley (Herefs), December 1643; inherited the Eardisley estate from his father in 1683 but sold it soon afterwards to William Barnesley; died unmarried and without issue, 24 December 1724; will proved at Hereford, 16 January 1724/5;

(5) Herbert Baskerville (1645-83), baptised at Almeley, March 1644/5; died unmarried; will proved at Hereford, 20 August 1683;

(6) Ann Baskerville (b. 1647), baptised at Almeley, 4 May 1647;

(7) Frances Baskerville (b. c.1654), born about 1654; married, 27 November 1682 at St Nicholas, Cole Abbey, London, John Reakes (b. c.1657) of Stepney, silk stocking maker.

(8) Humphrey Baskerville (1661-1729), baptised 3 September 1661; married, c.1681, his cousin, Philippa, daughter of Thomas Coningsby, and had issue two daughters; buried 10 March 1728/9; will proved at Hereford, 31 May 1729.

He inherited the Eardisley estate from his father in 1647 or 1648, and lived in some poverty in the former gatehouse of his father's house there.

He died 2 February 1682/3. His widow was buried 22 May 1683.

Baskerville of Pontrilas Court

Baskerville, Thomas (d. 1551). Fourth son of Sir Walter Baskerville (d. 1505), kt. and his first wife Anne, daughter of Morgan ap Jenkyn ap Philip of Pencoyd. He is probably the man of this name who was High Sheriff of Herefordshire, 1527-28. He married Alice (fl. 1551), daughter of Roger Hargest but had no issue. He did, however, have two illegitimate sons by his mistress (named Maud according to one source):

(X1) William Baskerville, born after 1530; living in 1551 but perhaps died young and unmarried;

(X2) Walter Baskerville (d. 1587) (q.v.).

He lived at Pontrilas Court and owned land at Tretire and Wootton; 

He died 21 July 1551 and requested burial in the chancel of Kentchurch church; his will was proved 28 August 1551 and an inquisition post mortem was held 18 October 1552. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Baskerville, Walter (d. 1587). Younger illegitimate son of Thomas Baskerville (d. 1551). He married Jane (fl. 1587), daughter of Richard Mornington of Westhide (Herefs) and had issue*:

(1) James Baskerville (d. 1634) (q.v.);

(2) Thomas Baskerville (fl. 1587), of Watton in Wellington (Herefs); died without issue;

(3) Walter Baskerville (fl. 1587), of Wormsley Grange (Herefs); married Frances, daughter of John Gage of Wormsley Grange and had issue one son and one daughter;

(4) William Baskerville (fl. 1634) of Garway (Herefs); married Elizabeth, daughter of Arthur Raynescroft, and had issue two sons and three daughters;

(5) John Baskerville (fl. 1587); died without issue;

(6) Katherine Baskerville (fl. 1587); living, unmarried, in 1587.

He inherited Pontrilas Court from his father in 1551.

His died between September and November 1587 and requested burial at Kentchurch; his will was proved 27 November 1587. His widow's date of death is unknown.

* One source mentions a daughter Jane instead of Katherine, but the latter is named in his will.

Baskerville, James (d. 1634). Eldest son of Walter Baskerville of Pontrilas Court and his wife Jane, daughter of Richard Mornington of Westhide. In 1623 he and his grandson Walter leased an ironworks called Pontrilas Forge to Benjamin Hall of Highmeadow (Glos), ironmaster. He married, before 1587, Sybil, daughter of Humphrey Baskerville of Eardisley, and had issue*:

(1) Humphrey Baskerville (d. 1620) (q.v.);

(2) Thomas Baskerville; perhaps born after 1587.

He inherited Pontrilas Court from his father in 1587.

He died in 1634. His wife's date of death is unknown.

* One source mentions that 'by his two wives [he] had thirty children, and nearly as many by concubines', but only one wife is known and there seems no evidence for such procreative prowess.

Baskerville, Humphrey (d. 1620). Son of James Baskerville of Pontrilas Court and his wife Sybil, daughter of Humphrey Baskerville of Eardisley, born before 1587. He married Ann (fl. 1619), daughter of Henry Vaughan of Moccas (Herefs), and had issue:

(1) Walter Baskerville (d. 1640) (q.v.);

(2) William Baskerville (fl. 1634); 'now in the Indies' in 1634;

(3) Humphrey Baskerville (fl. 1619); perhaps died before 1634;

(4) Henry Baskerville (fl. 1619); perhaps died before 1634;

(5) Roger Baskerville (fl. 1619); perhaps died before 1634;

(6) Anne Baskerville (fl. 1678); married, by 1634, Henry Baker (d. 1680) of Abergavenny (Mon.) and had issue two sons; living in 1678;

(7) Bridget Baskerville (fl. 1634); married, by 1634, Thomas Hudson of York;

(8) Elizabeth Baskerville (fl. 1619); perhaps died before 1634;

(9) Eleanor Baskerville (fl. 1634); living, unmarried, in 1634.

He lived at Hereford and Westhide.

He died in the lifetime of his father in 1620; his will was proved 12 May 1620. His widow's date of death is unknown.

Baskerville, Walter (d. 1640). Son of Humphrey Baskerville (d. 1620) and his wife Ann, daughter of Henry Vaughan of Moccas (Herefs), born about 1600. He married, 4 December 1628 at Llantrithyd (Glam), Ann, daughter of Sir Thomas Aubrey, kt. of Llantrithyd Court, and had issue:

(1) Mary Baskerville (b. 1629), eldest daughter, born 1629; living in 1640;

(2) Elizabeth Baskerville (b. 1630), baptised at Llantrithyd, 28 September 1630; died young;

(3) Cicell Baskerville (b. 1631), baptised at Llantrithyd, 13 May 1631; living in 1640;

(4) Humphrey Baskerville (b. c.1633) (q.v.);

(5) Eleanor Baskerville; living in 1640;

(6) John Baskerville; living in 1640.

He inherited Pontrilas Court from his grandfather.

He died in 1640; his will was proved 1 July 1641. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Baskerville, Humphrey (b. c.1633). Elder son of Walter Baskerville (d. 1640) and his wife Ann, daughter of Sir Thomas Aubrey of Llantrithyd (Glam), born about 1632; he was aged 18 months at the time of the heralds' visitation of Herefordshire in 1634. Educated at Middle Temple (admitted 1651). He married, 16 May 1654 at Birtsmorton (Worcs), Ann (b. 1621?), daughter of Giles Nanfan of Birtsmorton Court, and had issue:

(1) Ann Baskerville (1655-85), baptised at Birtsmorton, 9 May 1655; married, 1674 at Kentchurch (Herefs), Sir John Williams (c.1651-1704), 2nd bt. of Llangibby (Mon.), Jacobite MP for Monmouth, 1689-90 and for Monmouthshire, 1698-1704 (who m2, Lady Catherine Herbert, daughter of Philip Herbert, 5th Earl of Pembroke), eldest surviving son of Sir Trevor Williams, 1st bt., but had no issue; died 30 November and was buried at Llangibby, 11 December 1685;

(2) Mary Baskerville (b. 1656), born 28 June and baptised at Birtsmorton, 6 July 1656; married 1st, 8 December 1674 at Kentchurch, Sir Edward Morgan (d. 1682), 3rd bt., of Llantarnam, MP for Monmouthshire, 1680-82, and had issue two daughters; married 2nd, 1 May 1683 at St Botolph without Aldersgate, London, John Grubham Howe (c.1657-1722) of Stowell Park (Glos), MP for Cirencester, 1689-98 and Gloucestershire, 1698-1705, and had issue one son (John Howe, 1st Baron Chedworth) and one daughter; her date of death has not been traced.

He inherited Pontrilas Court from his father in 1640. After his death the property passed to his daughters as co-heirs and was sold to Philip Jackson, a London merchant.

He died between 1665 and 1674. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Baskerville of Aberedw Court and Clyro Court

Baskerville, Humphrey (d. 1572). Fifth and youngest son of Sir James Baskerville (d. 1546), kt [for whom see Baskerville (later Mynors-Baskerville) of Eardisley above], and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Breynton of Stretton Sugwas (Herefs), perhaps born about 1525. He is not to be confused with a contemporary of the same name, who was a merchant and alderman of London and died in 1563. He married Eleanor, daughter and heiress of John ap Gwillym of Llanbedr (Radnors) and Aberedw, and had issue:

(1) John Baskerville (d. 1599) (q.v.);

(2) Anne Baskerville; said to have married, by 1578, William Havard and had issue one son.

He inherited the Llanbedr and Aberedw estates in right of his wife.

He died in 1572. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Baskerville, John (d. 1599). Son of Humphrey Baskerville (d. 1572) of Aberedw, and his wife Eleanor, daughter and heiress of John ap Gwillym of Llanbedr and Aberedw. He married, 1578, Sarah (fl. 1619), daughter of Thomas Lewis of Harpton Court (Radnors), and had issue:

(1) Anne Baskerville (fl. 1599), eldest daughter, probably born before 1580; 

(2) Thomas Baskerville (d. c.1637) (q.v.);

(3) James Baskerville (fl. 1599), living in 1599;

(4) Margaret Baskerville (fl. 1599), living in 1599.

He inherited the Aberedw estate from his father in 1572.

His will was written 6 June 1599 and proved 27 November 1599. His widow was living in 1619; her date of death is unknown.

Baskerville, Thomas (d. c.1637). Elder son of John Baskerville (d. 1599) of Aberedw and his wife Sarah, daughter of Thomas Lewis of Harpton Court (Radnors), born after 1575. He married, 1610 (settlement 20 December),  Eleanor, daughter of John Lewis of Llanwenny (Radnors), and had issue:

(1) James Baskerville (d. 1667) (q.v.);

(2) Walter Baskerville (d. 1674);

(3) Sarah Baskerville (fl. 1673); married [forename unknown] Jauncey;

(4) Ann Baskerville (fl. 1673).

He inherited the Aberedw estate from his father in 1599, but in 1634 was living at Llanbedr Painscastle, Old Radnor.

He was living in 1634 but had probably died by 1640. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Baskerville, James (d. 1667). Elder son of Thomas Baskerville (d. c.1637) of Aberedw and his wife Eleanor, daughter of John Lewis of Llanwenny, born after 1610. He married Dorothy, daughter of David Blayney, and had issue:

(1) James Baskerville (d. c.1688) (q.v.);

(2) Joan Baskerville (d. 1699); died unmarried; will proved 14 July 1699;

(3) Eleanor Baskerville (fl. 1675).

He inherited the Aberedw estate from his father in about 1637. In 1610 he was living at Llanbedr.

His will was proved at Brecon, 26 October 1667. His widow's date of death is unknown.

Baskerville, James (d. c.1688). Only son of James Baskerville (d. 1667) of Aberedw and his wife Dorothy, daughter of David Blayney. Said to have killed a Colonel Powell in a duel after a cockfight at Presteigne (Radnors). He married, 1664, Elizabeth (fl. 1686), daughter of Edward Griffin of Bickmarsh, and had issue:

(1) Thomas Baskerville (c.1668-1720) (q.v.);

(2) Walter Baskerville (fl. 1686); living in 1686;

(3) James Baskerville (d. 1732), of Aberedw; married 1st, 29 January 1701 at Aberedw, Sybil Powell and had issue one daughter (who died young); married 2nd, 1714 (licence 27 May), Mary Taylor (1690-1746) and had issue two sons and one daughter; died at Aberedw, 13 August 1732;

(4) Nicholas Baskerville (d. 1741); married and had issue; buried at Aberedw, 25 March 1741;

(5) Dorothy Baskerville (d. 1697), born after 1670; died unmarried, 1697.

He inherited the Aberedw estate from his father in 1667.

He died about 1688*; his will was proved in Brecon, 26 August 1692 (but the inventory is dated 20 September 1688). His wife was living in 1686 but had probably died by 1692: she was named as executor in her husband's will, but administration was actually granted to their eldest son.

* According to Jonathan Williams’ “History of Radnorshire” (1859), p. 287, he was killed in a duel, but whether this was the one with Col. Powell referred to above or another event is unclear.

Baskerville, Thomas (c.1668-1720). Eldest son of James Baskerville (d. c.1688) of Aberedw and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Griffin of Bickmarsh, born about 1668. In 1717 he had debts totalling £2,186. He married, 1700, Sibyl, daughter of [forename unknown] Collins of Bryngwyn (Radnors), and had issue:

(1) Thomas Baskerville (c.1701-40) (q.v.);

(2) Margaret Baskerville (fl. 1738?); said to have married, 17 May 1738, Thomas Dunn;

(3) Sibyl Baskerville (fl. 1740); married, 1740 (licence 7 May), Walter Davies.

He inherited the Aberedw estate from his father in about 1688.

His will was proved in Brecon, 1720. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Baskerville, Thomas (c.1701-40). Only son of Thomas Baskerville (c.1668-1720) and his wife Sibyl, daughter of [forename unknown] Collins of Bryngwyn (Radnors), born about 1701. He married, 1726 (settlement 23 August, bond 25 August), Meliora (1701-73), eldest daughter of Richard Baskerville of Richardson, Winterbourne Bassett (Wilts), and had issue:

(1) Thomas Baskerville (1731-48), said to have been born 2 February 1731; died young and was buried at Aberedw, 21 July 1748;

(2) Jane Baskerville (fl. 1739); evidently died young;

(3) Philippa Baskerville (1738-71) (q.v.).

He inherited the Aberedw estate from his father.

He was buried at Aberedw, 15 November 1740. His widow was buried at Aberedw, 14 February 1773; administration of her goods was granted at Brecon, 1775.

Baskerville, Philippa (1738-71). Younger daughter of Thomas Baskerville (c.1701-40) and his wife Meliora, eldest daughter of Richard Baskerville of Richardston (Wilts), born at Aberedw, 6 January 1738. She married, 13 October 1767 at Aberedw, Rev. John Powell (1737-1819) of Penland, Llanbister and Clyro Court (Radnors), son of William Powell of Clyro, and had issue:

(1) Meliora Powell (c.1768-1829) (q.v.).

Her husband inherited the Clyro Court estate.

She was buried at Aberedw, 24 February 1771. Her husband was buried at Clyro, 31 May 1819.

Powell, Meliora (c.1768-1829). Only daughter and heiress of Rev. John Powell of Penland, Llanbister and Clyro Court (Radnors) and his wife Philippa, only daughter of Thomas Baskerville, born about 1768. She married, 1st, 26 February 1787 at Aberedw, Peter Rickards (later Mynors*) (1754-94) of Treago Castle (Herefs), son of Peter Rickards of Evenjobb (Radnors), and 2nd, 12 July 1819 at St Weonards (Herefs), Capt. Jaspar Farmar RM JP (1777-1861), and had issue:

(1.1) Peter Rickards Mynors (1787-1866), born 27 November and  baptised at St. Weonards, 2 December 1787; inherited the Treago Castle (Herefs) estate; High Sheriff of Radnorshire, 1825-26; JP and DL for Herefordshire and Radnorshire; married, 1817, Mary Elizabeth (1795-1882), daughter of Edmund Trowbridge Halliday of Chapel Cleeve (Som.), and had issue four sons and one daughter; died in Clevedon (Som.), 20 January 1866;

(1.2) Meliora Mynors (1789-1854), born 1 January and baptised at St. Weonards, 4 January 1789; married, 1815, Hugh Hovell Farmar (1782-1828) of Dunsinane, nr. Enniscorthy (Co. Wexford), land agent, and had issue two sons and three daughters; died 11 November 1854; administration of her goods granted to her son at Gloucester, 23 December 1854 (effects under £300);

(1.3) Thomas Baskerville Mynors (later Mynors-Baskerville) (1790-1864) (q.v.).

Her husband inherited Treago Castle from his second cousin once removed in 1765. 

She died aged 61 at Treago Castle, 12 October 1829. Her first husband died 4 August 1794. Her second husband died 2 March 1861; his will was proved 11 April 1861 (effects under £300).

* He took the additional surname Mynors by royal licence, 14 September 1787.

Mynors (later Baskerville), Thomas Baskerville (1790-1864). Second son of Peter Rickards Mynors (1754-94) of Treago Castle (Herefs) and his wife Meliora, daughter and heiress of Rev. John Powell of Penland (Radnors), born 7 April and baptised at St. Weonards (Herefs), 11 April 1790. Educated at Eton, Trinity College, Oxford (matriculated 1808) and Trinity Hall, Cambridge (matriculated 1812; LLB 1826). JP for Herefs, Wilts, Brecons and Radnors and DL for Wiltshire and Radnorshire; High Sheriff of Wiltshire, 1827-28. Conservative MP for Herefordshire, 1841-47. He took the additional name of Baskerville by royal licence on succeeding his kinsman, Lt-Col. Thomas Baskerville of Poulton House (Wilts) in 1817. He married 1st, 11 August 1818 at Mildenhall (Wilts), Anne (1798-1832), daughter and heiress of John Hancock of Marlborough, and 2nd, 2 March 1837 at Great Milton (Oxon), Elizabeth Mary (1809-90), eldest daughter of Rev. Powell Colchester Guise, rector of Crayke (Yorks NR) and later of Elmore (Glos), and had issue:

(2.1) Walter Thomas Mynors Baskerville (1839-97) (q.v.);

(2.2) Lt-Col. Herbert Witherston Mynors Baskerville (1841-1926), of Berthddu, Llandinam (Montgomerys), born 26 September and baptised at Holy Trinity, Bath (Som.), 21 October 1841; an officer in the 9th Foot (Ensign, 1858; Lt., 1862; Capt., 1872; Maj., 1881; retired as Lt-Col., 1881); JP for Herefs, Montgomerys and Radnors; he was a strong supporter of the Conservative party, an active churchman, and a keen sportsman; died unmarried, 31 December 1926 and was buried at Clyro, January 1927; will proved 12 April 1927 (estate £37,219);

(2.3) Capt. Edward Reginald Mynors Baskerville (1843-1916), born and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., London, 13 March 1843; an officer in the 11th and later 36th Foot (Ensign, 1861; Lt., 1865; Capt., 1873; resigned his combatant commission, 1879, but continued as Paymaster; retired 1881); lived latterly at Berthddu, Llandinam (Montgomerys); died unmarried, 5 June 1916; will proved 23 February 1917 (estate £20,970);

(2.4) Gertrude Alice Elizabeth Baskerville (1844-93), born 25 June and baptised at St Peter, Eaton Sq., London, 26 July 1844; an amateur artist of some ability; lived at Netherwood, Hampton Bishop (Herefs); died unmarried, 13 January and was buried at Clyro, 18 January 1893;

(2.5) Edith Meliora Sybil Baskerville (1846-1916), born 23 December 1846; lived with her sisters until admitted to Brislington House Asylum, Bristol, 5 August 1898, and died there unmarried, 20 May 1916; buried at Clyro, 26 May 1916; will proved 7 December 1916 (estate £20,872);

(2.6) Clara Anne Maria Baskerville (1848-1901), born 24 August 1848; lived with her sisters and latterly at Berthddu, Llandinam (Montgomerys); died unmarried, 4 March and was buried at Clyro, 9 March 1901; will proved 6 February 1903 (estate £15,463).

He inherited the Wiltshire estate of his kinsman, Lt-Col. Thomas Baskerville, in 1817 and seems to have rented Rockley House near Marlborough. On the death of his maternal grandfather, Rev. John Powell, in 1819, he inherited the Clyro and Aberedw estates; he rebuilt Clyro Court in 1839. The Aberedw estate was subsequently dispersed by minor sales over the next two generations.

He died 9 September 1864. His first wife was buried at St Weonards, 22 June 1832. His widow died 5 September 1890.

Baskerville, Walter Thomas Mynors (1839-97). Eldest son of Thomas Baskerville Mynors (later Mynors Baskerville) and his second wife, Elizabeth Mary, eldest daughter of Rev. Powell Colchester Guise, born 7 January and baptised at St Swithin, Walcot, Bath (Som.), 20 February 1839. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1858). JP and DL for Radnorshire, 1861-97; High Sheriff of Radnorshire, 1868-69. He married, 18 November 1875 at Canon Frome (Herefs), Bertha Maria (1848-92), only child of John Hopton of Canon Frome Court, and had issue:

(1) Sybil Maud Baskerville (1877-1942), born 1 February 1877; inherited Canon Frome Court from her father in 1897, and took the name and arms of Hopton by royal licence, 1898; married, 29 April 1899 at Christ Church, Mayfair, London, Col. John Dutton Hunt (1858-1934), Chief Inspector of Small Arms to War Office, 1900-07 (who also took the name and arms of Hopton, 1899), but had no issue; died at Hotel Suisse, Cannes (France), 3 July 1940; will proved 21 December 1940 (estate £43,841);

(2) Dorothy Nesta Baskerville (1880-1954) (q.v.);

(3) Ralph Hopton Baskerville (1883-1918) (q.v.).

He inherited the Clyro Court estate from his father in 1864. His wife inherited Canon Frome Court from her father in 1891, and he inherited from her in 1892. At his death his paternal estates passed to his only son and his wife's property to his elder daughter.

He died 29 August 1897; his will was proved 15 March 1898 (effects £19,824). His wife died 21 October 1892; administration of her goods was granted 26 May 1893 (effects £4,410).

Baskerville, Ralph Hopton (1883-1918). Only son of Walter Thomas Mynors Baskerville (1839-97) and his wife Bertha Maria, only child of John Hopton of Canon Frome Court (Herefs), born 13 February 1883. Educated at Bradfield. An officer in 1st Royal Dragoons (2nd Lt., 1902; Lt., 1902; retired, 1904); JP for Radnorshire. Master of the Clyro Foxhounds, 1906-07, North Cornwall Hunt, 1907-09 and the East Sussex Foxhounds, 1910-12. He spent some time in Canada in 1914 but returned home to serve with the Glamorganshire Yeomanry (Lt., 1914; Capt., 1916; T/Maj., 1917) in the First World War. He was engaged to be married in 1907 but the wedding was cancelled and he died unmarried and without issue.

He inherited the Clyro Court estate from his father in 1897, but let the house. At his death it passed to his younger sister.

He was killed in action at Ploegsteert, Hainault (Belgium), 9 April 1918; his will was proved 19 July 1918 (estate £115,935).

Baskerville, Dorothy Nesta (1880-1954). Younger daughter of Walter Thomas Mynors Baskerville (1839-97) and his wife Bertha Maria, only child of John Hopton of Canon Frome Court (Herefs), born 11 January 1880. She resumed her maiden name on inheriting the Clyro estate in 1918. She married, 17 June 1903, Cdr. Bernhard Alexander Pratt-Barlow RN (1874-1914), elder son of Charles Pratt-Barlow of Knole Wood, Sunningdale (Berks), and had issue:

(1) Edward Lyttelton Pratt-Barlow (1906-07), born 2 September and baptised at Leybourne (Kent), 30 September 1906; died in infancy, Jul-Sept 1907;

(2) Mary Pamela Pratt-Barlow (1905-48), born 16 June 1905; married, 20 December 1932, Maj. Otho Cadwallader Adams (later Hopton) (1901-61) (who m2, 1949, Vivienne Annie Lardner (1905-83), daughter of Henry Lardner Dennys and widow of William Llewellyn Parry de Winton (1902-37)), third son of Alfred Adams, barrister-at-law, and had issue two sons; died 6 February 1948; administration of goods granted 21 June 1948 (estate £7,856).

She inherited the Clyro Court estate from her brother in 1918, but sold the house to Radnorshire County Council in 1946. Her daughter inherited Canon Frome Court (Herefs) from her aunt in 1940. It was let as a school in 1954 and sold to Herefordshire County Council in 1957.

She died 18 November 1954; her will was proved 14 January 1955 (estate £102,894). Her husband was killed in action when HMS Hawke was torpedoed, 15 October 1914; his will was proved 14 April 1915 (estate £1,278).

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1850, i, pp. 63-64; Burke's Landed Gentry, 1952, p. 125; F.W. Weaver (ed), The visitation of Herefordshire 1569, 1886, pp. 7-8; P.H. Baskerville, Genealogy of the Baskerville family, 1912; P.H. Baskerville, Additional Baskerville Genealogy, 1917; M.P. Siddons (ed), The visitation of Herefordshire 1634, Harleian Soc. 2002, pp. 54-56, 77, 95; N. Baker et al., An interim report on an excavation at Eardisley Castle, Herefordshire, 2011; A. Brooks & Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Herefordshire, 2nd edn., 2012, pp. 216-17; R. Scourfield & R. Haslam, The buildings of Wales: Powys, 2nd edn., 2013, p. 301; 

https://www.woolhopeclub.org.uk/people/1665-hearth-tax

Location of archives

Baskerville of Clyro and Aberedw: deeds, estate and family papers, c.1759-1906 [Powys County Archives Office, R/D/JGW/37; Herefordshire Archives & Records Centre, M5B/14]

Coat of arms

Baskerville of Eardisley: Argent, a chevron gules between three hurts azure.

Baskerville of Pontrilas: Argent, a chevron gules between three roundels azure, a border gobony argent and azure.

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide a photograph or drawing of Aberedw Court before its demolition in the 19th century?
• Can anyone provide more information about the ownership of Pontrilas Court in the 20th century?
• I should be most grateful if anyone can provide photographs or portraits of people whose names appear in bold above, and who are not already illustrated.
• Any additions or corrections to the account given above will be gratefully received and incorporated. 

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 12 September 2020 and updated 14 and 22 September 2020. I am grateful to Thomas Lloyd for his assistance.